


A Prison of Data

by DarkKnightDan



Category: Sword Art Online
Genre: M/M, Multi, Original Characters - Freeform, Separate Plot, gay relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 10:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4662954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkKnightDan/pseuds/DarkKnightDan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damien enters the world of SAO, and, like the others, is trapped. Will he and his friends be able to escape Aincrad?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Prison of Data

A Prison of Data  
By Daniel Hodges  
Chapter One  
That day was the day Sword Art Online launched. The game was a huge, massively expansive MMORPG. It was made to immerse players in the world of Aincrad using the VR NerveGear helmet. Players would select a class and create an avatar to clear the game. It was rumored to be the best game of the last decade, and I had managed to get my hands on a copy. I’d had to wait in line for hours, and even then I’d just barely gotten a copy. The minute I had gotten it I had run home and put on my NerveGear. The helmet fit snugly to my head, the pads inside pressing to my temples and the back holding my head firmly in place inside the helmet. The small screen that came down displayed the battery of the NerveGear and the time, as well as the program that was inserted to the NerveGear’s drive. I had never been so excited for a game in my life. As the game booted up all I saw was bright white lights before I came into the avatar creation menu, a room of blue light with a central console. As I was loaded into the game I made my Avatar. I did this at my usual quick pace, since I didn’t try to make myself look unrealistic. I used my real name since I couldn’t honestly think of a more interesting moniker, so I typed Damien. I made my character look as much like myself as I could with the adult character models. I was taller than I was in real life by a couple of inches, and I was just a bit burlier than I am in real life. My long brown hair and icy blue eyes remained the same though, giving me an odd vision of a future version of myself.   
A weapon wheel appeared before me, the class selection screen. From where I was standing the wheel had just descended like it was part of some game show. There were more than I had seen in most fantasy RPGs, but I picked the swordsman. I liked the idea of being able to use a sword without a shield. The warrior had that; it looked derpy in my opinion. The sword I was given at first was around three feet long, weighted very well and sharp as a razor. It had appeared in my hand, just like in some of the other VR games I had played before. I liked the look of it, unlike my starting clothes. It seemed like all the starting classes had the same armor. I was wearing leather pants, boots that came up to my calf on each leg, a cotton shirt and a breastplate. My shirt was purple, as I had chosen. This was the only detail I liked though, the rest of the outfit screamed unfashionable and impractical for battle. With a loud noise the game informed me through a pop up that appeared like the menu usually that I was now being loaded into the world. The lights faded out and were replaced by the same bright white lights that had been there when I was originally loaded in.  
My first view of Aincrad was full of beauty. I was standing in the center of a city; another pop up informed me that the city was called “The Town of Beginnings.” I looked around at the rising steeples and the slanting roofs that gave off a very renaissance look. The stone that the majority of the city was made of was a sandy color, and the roofs were all blue tiled. The streets of the city were clean; it had a look as though no one had ever lived in it before the moments the game had been started, which kind of gave an odd vibe for me. The mountains beyond the town were capped with snow, and leading up to them I could see rolling green fields, seemingly never ending until they met the mountain. There were already players milling about around me, dressed in the same starting gear that I was wearing, I even recognized a guy who went to my school. His name was Chris. The only reason I was able to recognize him was because his avatar looked exactly like him, though he was just a tad bit shorter even with the height option maxed out. He had gone for a stronger character obviously, a two handed battle-axe was swung across his back. It was simple, a single blade on one side on a shaft of plain wood. He was standing in the middle of the town, talking to a bunch of girl characters. They all looked way over the top, hair in various vivid colors, lips too red, figures too….exaggerated. I found this odd, considering that in our school he was one of the only people in my school who were openly gay. I ignored this though, paying attention to what I needed to do. One of my friends had beta tested the game, his name was Sean. He had told me that the first thing that I needed to do was to get out of the town of beginnings and head for the nearest village.   
I turned and took off running, ignoring the confused looks that people gave me as I ran by them. The town whipped by in a flurry of sandy brown, blurred buildings and stalls occupied by NPC merchants. When I got outside of the city walls the world stretched out before me, sky painted a shade of azure blue hanging over endless emerald fields. Dotted among the fields were areas where the world had holes in it, the holes only leading to endless sky beneath them, showing that Aincrad was indeed a floating fortress, as had been advertised. I knew the point of the game, there were one hundred floors, each floor was unique in its own way, and each had its own town and boss and dungeon. It was a gigantic world compressed into a floating castle. On the way to the nearest village I killed some wandering mobs effortlessly, trying out my sword in battle for the first time. I didn’t encounter any problems with these low level enemies, and my speed was unmatched. I walked into the new village just as the sun was going down, sending a flare of orange across the sky behind me. I decided now would be as good of a time as any to log out for the night, I was already level five.   
When I bought up the menu, a multi tab touch screen similar to an iPad that was bought up by a swipe upward of my empty hand, I searched for the log out button, but realized that the button wasn’t there. The place that it would be labeled was there, but the text itself was gone, and when I pressed the button nothing happened. I was confused by this, searching for any messages from the developers talking about this problem. It was around this time that I started hearing the loud tolling of distant bells; the bells that I knew signaled the passing of each hour in The Town of Beginnings. I had ignored the bells earlier due to the fact that I was busy leveling up. I turned and glanced back at the town, when I suddenly found myself in the same plaza as I had initially spawned at. Above the plaza in the sky the words urgent message were flashing all in red. I was confused by this, pulling up my message box to see if any messages had been sent, but my inbox was still empty.   
I heard someone scream, and looked up at the sky to see that a single part of the sky was now oozing some red liquid, it looked eerily like blood. From that red liquid came a gigantic human being, wearing a red robe that covered the beings features with a hood. It hovered menacingly overhead, its cloak giving the illusion that it was touching the ground where no one was standing, but if you looked closely you could tell he wasn’t touching the world.  
“Greetings players. I am the developer of this game, Akihiko Kayaba. I imagine that some of you have already noticed that your log out button has been removed from your menus. I would like to inform you all that this is not an error in the game files. This is completely intended. The game has been reformed, and the only way for you to log out now is to clear the game, to fight through all one hundred floors of Aincrad. Oh, I’m sure most of you are thinking that this will be no problem, it’s just a game, right? Well, again I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The game is different now. You will all notice you have a HP gauge, you had this beforehand anyway. The only difference now is that once your HP hits zero you will not only be permanently deleted from the game, you will be killed in real life. If anyone tries to remove your helmets, or if the connection is interrupted, you will die. So far two hundred people have already died in this manner, so the chances of this happening at this point are very slim. I wish the best of luck to you as you attempt to clear Aincrad, oh, I almost forgot. You’ll notice that there’s been a new item placed within your inventory. I encourage you all to use them.”   
I raised a brow, confused by all of this, no quite believing it, as the man disappeared and opened my inventory, finding a mirror had been placed in my inventory. I spawned it in and looked into the mirror, confused as to its purpose. A mirror had no purpose in SAO, especially at this point. I mean, I could die at any moment and Kayaba decides a mirror is what we need? What kind of joke is this? Suddenly, there was a flash of light and I was looking at the face of my exact self in the real world. A quick look around revealed that all of the players had changed their appearance, at least in a minor manner. The only person I could still pick out was Chris, who now stood towering over everyone else at 6’6. His short blonde hair shone in the light of the setting sun, and his crystal blue eyes were looking around with a sense of terror in them. My own mind momentarily jumped to my family before remembering that they wouldn’t miss me, not after what I had told them yesterday. I didn’t have any friends at school either, so I didn’t really have much to worry about. The only thing I thought was…for some reason, Chris.   
The first person to freak was a girl, who let out a loud wail of hopelessness. What followed was complete chaos. People started screaming, pushing, and shoving as they tried to get out of the plaza. I was amazed at how people suddenly lost their minds. I watched as one guy was shoved to the ground and quickly run over by other people. He was the first person to die due to other players in the world of Sword Art. I was glad I had already gotten a teleportation crystal in the next town, if I hadn’t I would have never made it out of the town.   
The village I had made it to was deafeningly quiet compared to the town. There were no players in sight. I realized that I was far ahead of the game; none of the people in the plaza had been higher than level three, not even the beta testers. Despite this though, I didn’t want to waste time and give others the chance to catch up. I knew how these games worked, only a certain amount of people could get a quest, and so I went around the town, getting all the quests I could before heading out into the fields to finish them. The town itself was much more dirty than The Town of Beginnings, more rustic. Everything that would have been made of stone in the starting down was now made of dark wood. I needed to stay ahead of the game. It was at this moment that I decided I would be a solo player, I didn’t want to get loaded down, and I didn’t want to worry about others. I would always be one step ahead, one strike in front of the rest of the players.  
Chapter 2  
One month. It’s been one entire month since we were locked in SAO. In that time not one person managed to clear the first floor. I’ve been staying in a small village ever since I got the last of the quests from the NPCs here. I had managed to avoid everyone from school, only seeing one or two of them in passing sometimes. I replaced my starting sword with the Anneal blade, which I had gotten from a quest and upgraded to its max level. I had also gotten myself to level sixteen, which seemed to be as high as I could possibly get on this floor. I was currently staying in Tolbana town, which was only about half an hour from the boss labyrinth. It was a more vivid town than The Town of Beginnings had been. The buildings were all different colors, which gave off a sense of variety and diversity that the rest of the floor really didn’t have. There was even a park in the plaza of this town, great trees that reached up towards the tops of the buildings and grass that seemed just as real as it did at home. Sometime it still amazed me just how similar this world was to my own. It was a bright, clear day when a conference was called to discuss how to get through the labyrinth. It was being held at an amphitheater in the southwest corner of Tolbana town, it wasn’t a very big place. I mean, it was big enough to hold the forty or so member so the assault team, but I wouldn’t attempt to pack the whole town in there. I arrived late, not really worried about any of the people there, not really caring at all about their plan. If they made things too complicated they wouldn’t be able to adjust when things went wrong. This is why I would rather have gone through alone, but I wasn’t quite strong enough to do so.  
I noticed Chris there right off the bat, sitting hunched over on one of the steps of the amphitheater, still with the same axe slung across his back. He seemed to be compulsively opening and closing his menu, like he was checking for something, or just occupying time. He was also biting his lip, something that was a nervous tendency of mine as well. This confused me though; I could see no reason why Chris would be nervous at this moment. I also noticed a couple other people from my school, a guy named Blake who was a grade above me, and a girl named Amelia, who was in my grade. They were sitting next to each other, Blake wearing a long black trench coat, sitting with his arms crossed over his chest. His black hair was cut shorter than usual, and his light green eyes surveyed the people in front of him. Amelia sat next to him, trying to copy him it seemed. Her black hair fell to her waist, as it always had, and her emerald green eyes seemed to focus on one person before moving quickly to another. I searched for Sean among the crowd, figuring that he would be here, but not spotting him there. My thoughts on everyone in this group were different. Chris was probably the person I thought of the highest when it came to all of them. We had played on the same baseball team at one point, and we had been really good friends if not better teammates. Blake was the kind of guy at school who liked to be in charge, and if you tried to tell him that you were better than him in any way he refuted you angrily. Amelia was neutral in my eyes, she kind of acted as Blake’s lackey but she was also a very nice girl. She wasn’t offensive and never seemed to get angry at anyone.  
The meeting eventually started when a blue haired guy started talking about the details of the dungeon. He wasn’t very noteworthy. He looked like he was in his early twenties, was around the same height and build as I, and spoke in a voice that told me he had become the leader of this group against his will. I sat there toying with my sword as he did. At some point a beefy guy with a broadsword butt into the plan, yelling about how he hated beta testers and how they should pay up and stuff. He was talking about stuff I didn’t really care about, and so I didn’t pay attention. The only thing I heard was that we all needed to party up. I saw Amelia and Blake join together instantly, seeing the invites pop up on their menus. I saw Chris looking around, scared, as he searched for someone to party up with. I sighed and opened my menu, scrolling down to his name and sending him a party request.  
I saw the message pop up in front of Chris and his eyes instantly snapped to me. He grinned, showing off his perfect smile, accepted the party invite, and got up to walk over and sit down next to me.   
“Hey, you’re Damien, right?” he asked, collapsing easily on the steps beside me.  
“Yeah, I go to your school. I’m in the tenth grade.” I replied, shifting to give him some room as he sat down right into my personal space.  
“Oh, I remember you now, you’re a basketball player, right?” I nodded in response and Chris smiled.  
“Well, thanks for partying up with me. All of the other people here seem to have their own little groups….except for you though, I mean, you’re really high leveled though, aren’t you?” he asked rather nervously. I glanced up at him, wondering how he knew that before realizing he had been able to see my experience level when I sent him the party invite.  
“Yeah, I’m one of the highest leveled players in SAO, right behind the guy named Kirito up there.” I said, jerking my thumb in the direction of the aforementioned player. Chris nodded, though he still seemed confused.  
“So, why aren’t you in a party, or a guild, or something?” he inquired making some odd gesture with one of his hands, as though he were motioning to the entire world.  
“I didn’t get this good by playing for other people.” I responded curtly. “I stuck to myself and stayed a step ahead. If I had slowed down and tried to help other people I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far as I have. Take my advice Chris, learn to fight for yourself and stay ahead of everyone else once we get to the next floor.” It was a hard rule, but it had kept me alive thus far. Chris seemed stunned by my answer. He looked like he was trying to rationalize what I had said before he blurted out.  
“Can’t I come with you once we clear the dungeon? I mean, you’re strong enough that you could help me make it to a higher level, right?” I glanced over at the older boy, who had a hopeful look in his eyes, and underneath that, fear, cold, chilling fear. I could tell what I had just told him about staying ahead and being strong had made him realize just how much trouble he would be in if he didn’t get stronger.  
“I’ll think about it, Chris.” I said as I got up, starting to walk out of the amphitheater.  
“Hey.” Chris called after me and I turned, raising a brow as I did.  
“Yeah? What is it?” I asked and Chris smiled nervously.  
“Well, uh, I was going to ask if you wanted to come get some food with me, to repay you for pretty much saving my life and everything.” I nodded.   
“Sure, send me a message when you want to meet.” I said before walking out of the amphitheater. 

After I finished a few quests and collected my rewards I went back to the park that I had been spending most of my time at and swung up into a tree, sprawling out on a branch to try and sleep a bit.   
It was just past nightfall when a message from Chris popped up, asking me to meet him at a café in the town. I jumped down from the tree that I had been resting in and walked toward the café. I had been thinking about taking Chris with me after the boss fight, but I had realized that it would be a terrible idea. He was too low level to help me out in any way, and I would either end up defending him constantly or watching him die. Part of me wanted to duel him, and kill him quickly. At least then he wouldn’t suffer. It was this thought that stopped me. During the month that SAO had been online 2,000 people had died. I had watched a handful die in duels, and some to monsters in the dungeon and the fields. I had never felt sympathy for any of them, never felt the inclination to end their suffering with a quick end. Why was it different for Chris?  
“Maybe because you still have a crush on him.” Part of my brain reminded me. I had liked Chris since I was a ninth grader, he had always been so nice to everyone, and had been kind to me the few times we had spoken. I had just never had the guts to come out to him when we were in school together. I was brave in a different way than he was. He could take people making fun of him and calling him names, I couldn’t do that. That’s part of the reason I’ve always avoided people, not just in SAO. I can’t take being rejected, I can’t take disappointing others. But now, part of me told me that I had to help Chris. The part of me that had initially had feelings for him told me that if I didn’t help him I would regret it.   
I walked into the café. It was warm, unlike the chilly night that I walked in from. The café smelled of baking bread and cooking meat, reminding me of many night this month when I had been eating by myself around a rustic campfire. The café itself didn’t have many players in it, so it was very quiet. I saw Chris sitting in the corner, his battle axe unequipped as he sat. My sword remained on my back as I sat down across from him.  
“So? Did you think about what I said?” he asked nervously and I nodded.  
“ Yeah, I’ll take you with me, through the next level at least until you get strong enough to support yourself.” I told him and Chris grinned. Despite the smile though, I could still see something in his eyes. At first I thought it was the trick of the light but I realized that it really was there, a consistent light of fear that danced around his eyes. It was a cloud that covered the bright and vivid blue of his eyes, making them seem darker than they really were. I wondered if I looked the same way.  
“Thank you Damien, you won’t regret this.” He said, leaning forward eagerly. His eyes were shining, and the muscles of his arms bulged as he leant forward. Part of my mind disagreed with him, but this was overruled by the other half which had originally convinced me to do this in the first place.   
Dinner was short, some cooked meat and bread the only food that I asked for. Still, it was heavenly compared to the crude dinners I had been cooking for myself. Afterwards I stood to leave and Chris stopped me, grabbing my hand in his which made me blush brightly. When he realized what he had done Chris let go of my hand. “I saw you sleeping in the tree earlier; I’m renting an apartment in town. I was wondering if you’d like to stay with me for tonight. You should get some good sleep before we go on this raid.”   
“Eh, yeah….I guess you’re right.” I said with a smile. Chris nodded and got up. He walked out of the café with me and back onto the dark streets of the town which were illuminated by the lanterns that hung out some windows, though these only faintly illuminated the stone streets. The night was still cold unfortunately, sending a chill up my spine. Most people were either in bed or in restaurants, so the streets themselves were very quiet. I felt nervous walking next to Chris, my crush, alone. When we arrived at the place Chris was renting an apartment at I was looking up at a tall stone building, which looked like it was built for the richest players. The architecture was intricate, bright vivid colors illuminated the walls and the décor overall. When I looked at the rent rates pinned next to the grandiose oaken door I discovered that I had enough to buy one of the apartments, but for the average player the rates were ridiculous, even to just pay rent. The inside didn’t serve to crush my illusion of wealth in this building, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, expensive furniture was placed nearly and orderly around the lobby, and some players were milling around wearing expensive looking clothing. Chris led me up a flight of wooden stairs to the third floor and opened a door, revealing a multiple roomed apartment. The furniture in this room was scarce, reminding me of an inn’s room, the only things that seemed to be in the room were what came with it initially. I theorized that Chris kept everything else in his inventory somewhere. I unequipped my weapons and Chris led me into a bedroom, telling me that if I needed anything he would be in the next room. I thanked him politely for letting me stay the night here and shut the door after Chris left. The room was nice, a simple twin bed was pushed against a wall beneath a window, moonlight streaming through it. There was a small sink on the other side of the room, and a table opposite the foot of the bed with a chair shoved under it.  
I sighed, sitting down on the bed and then stretching out. The bed felt great. I hadn’t even slept in an inn since the first night I had slept in SAO, which had been three days into the game. It had been an amazing night and I had never slept so well in my life. This bed was better though, softer. I unequipped my clothes and pulled the covers over me.   
“Nice job abandoning modesty at the first chance. You’re sleeping in an apartment with someone you don’t know you can trust completely and you just take off your clothes the first chance you get.” I heard in my head and I rolled my eyes to myself. I curled up under the blanket, ignoring my own modesty and quickly falling asleep.   
The next morning I woke up early and left Chris’ apartment quietly. I sent him a message telling him that I wanted to get some supplies before we went into the dungeon. I didn’t want to make it seem like I had wanted urgently to leave, I was just….I don’t know. I had faced every challenge the game had thrown at me but I knew that there was nothing like a boss. I had seen the boss itself through the door after I had single-handedly cleared the dungeon but I had yet to engage it. The sight of the giant greatsword that the demon wielded had convinced me to not even attempt the boss solo, despite my normal methods.  
I walked around town, looking around to see if I could recognize anyone else that I knew. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to either be in bed still or heading toward the dungeon at this hour. I decided that I would head there myself and just rest there, and on the way I saw Blake and Amelia. Blake had a sword strapped onto his side, shorter than mine, and not nearly as effective looking. Amelia, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a weapon, instead a small talisman hung from her waist. A third girl was walking on the other side of Blake. She had two daggers, one on each leg. She wore the same starting gear as everyone else, not many people had gotten their hands on gear other than the starting clothes, so we all looked almost identical. I didn’t know her, but she reminded me of a girl I had seen in passing at school. She was blonde, and when she looked over at Blake I saw that she had brown eyes. Her face wasn’t quite as sharp as Blake and Amelia’s. It looked pleasant, though I couldn’t quite judge women accurately. Sean would be better at that. I was curious about her two daggers though, I had yet to see a character with the ability to dual wield. Eventually the trio stopped at the entrance to the dungeon and I caught up with them.   
“Hey Amelia, Blake.” I greeted as I walked up to them. Amelia looked over and raised a brow before smiling. Blake just narrowed his eyes as they followed me. I stopped, awkwardly standing there in his scrutinizing gaze. “Who’s your friend?” I asked, smiling to try and break the tension between Blake and I.  
“Her name is Inda, she’s in class 10-B at our school, you’ve probably seen her before.” He said tensely, folding his arms over his chest as he did. I nodded in response and extended my hand to Inda.  
“I thought I had seen you before. I’m Damien, it’s nice to meet you.” I raised a brow, but returned her smile. She didn’t seem like the type to run with Blake and Amelia.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Damien.” Inda said with a wide smile.  
“So, you’re the highest level player besides the beta tester Kirito, is that so?” Blake asked with a slight frown and I nodded.  
“Yeah, I reached this floor’s cap, that’s why I’m anxious to get this over with. In fact, if it were up to me I would have probably gone through with this already. I could have just used the three of you for backup.” I said, trying to sound like I was joking, I wasn’t. Blake rolled his eyes.  
“I’d rather not be killed, thanks. I’ll go ahead and wait an hour until the others show up, but if you’d like to go ahead in, be my guest.” He said, gesturing to the door behind him. I shrugged. He glanced over to Amelia with a look that spoke of disbelief, which caused the corners of her mouth to perk up slightly. They both walked off a little ways, sitting down on the opposite side of the large blue stone door.  
“Nah, I’m tired. I think I’ll wait. Besides, I have to take Chris in with me.” Blake smirked mischievously.  
“Ah yes, Chris. I saw you with him last night. Y’know Damien, I was always suspicious that you swung for the other team.” Amelia took a quick glance at me, smirking, and Inda seemed to be confused for a moment before realizing what Blake had meant. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and I scowled at Blake.  
“Shut up. I’m just trying to help him.” I growled and Blake shrugged, still smirking.  
“Whatever you say, just try to keep yourself under control during the raid, alright?” I scoffed and sat down next to the dungeon entrance. Inda sat down next to me, smiling slightly. Amelia and Blake exchanged exasperated looks at this.  
“Is he always like that?” she asked and I shrugged. Her question made me think, though. She obviously hadn’t been with Amelia and Blake for very long.  
“I don’t spend much time with Blake; I just know that he helped out with planning how we’re going to take down the boss. How long have you been with him?” I asked in reply and Inda shrugged.  
“Maybe a couple weeks. I was Amelia’s friend in school so I honestly joined the party just to help her. Blake seems a little….off.” She said, and glanced toward the dynamic duo on the other side of the door. Blake was speaking to Amelia in a quiet but animated manner, gesturing towards me very often. I nodded in response.  
“Well, he’s always been a little off. Just not this annoying usually.” I commented and Inda laughed.  
“You can say that again, I mean, he keeps asking me about my skills every few minutes, he seems really paranoid.” She commented, looking over at him with concern. I shrugged, I didn’t really care what happened to Blake at all. I knew it would be bad if someone set him off though. Inda continued to glance warily at him before eventually leaning her head against the wall.  
“I miss home.” She suddenly said. I looked over and saw that her eyes were squeezed tightly shut as she continued. “I can’t stand it here, I want to be home, in my bed, with my family. I want to be able to wake up in the morning without being afraid of dying at any moment. It’s not right, we’re teenagers. We shouldn’t have to worry about things like this.” I was stunned. I had barely met this girl, and here she was pouring her heart out to me. Part of me was moved, but I didn’t know what to say. Eventually, I just said the first thing that came to mind.  
“I miss home too.” I whispered simply and Inda looked over at me before leaning her head against the wall again and relaxing, she dozed off soon later.  
I smiled, pulling my sword out of its sheath so I could inspect it for any nicks or wear. From what I could see there were none.  
“Get everything you need?” I heard a voice ask and I looked up to see Chris standing over me, arms folded over his chest. He didn’t look like he was angry at me, but for some reason his tone gave me that impression. His expression was blank, so it was hard to read. The sun shone off of his usually golden wheat colored hair, instead coloring it as though it were composed of the snow that I had yet to see in Aincrad.   
“Yeah, I got a couple of healing items. How was your morning?” I asked and Chris shrugged.  
“Fine, I just can’t wait to get through this stupid dungeon so we can get one step closer to getting home.” I nodded in agreement and Chris sat down on the other side of me. Eventually, the others showed up and we started our venture into the dungeon. It was a twisting, winding labyrinth of corridors. Everything was dark and dank, only slight marks like torches or nicks on the walls from blades marked our way. The stench was unbearable, the smell of death hung heavily over the entire dungeon.  
It didn’t take long for our group to clear the dungeon and reach the boss room. There were thirty of us, and the mobs in the dungeon were relatively low leveled, for me anyway. They were mainly made up of animals like wolves. Some of them were low level warriors and knights, but there wasn’t much beyond that until we got into the boss room. Chris, on the other hand, had leveled up four times just by killing the random mobs. He was now level nine. He had even gotten an item drop from a monster, a better battle axe. The blade had two sides now, instead of only one, and the axe itself was longer, giving Chris a better reach. When we reached the door the guy who had been leading the conference yesterday gave a rallying speech but I didn’t pay attention again. I was too busy looking at Chris’ life bar, which was almost in the yellow region. From what I knew about the boss more than two hits could kill Chris at this point, and so my main priority in the fight drifted from being the one to kill the boss to protecting Chris.   
When the door opened we were greeted by the demon lord there, wielding the curved sword I had seen in my earlier encounter. He stood more than ten feet tall, royal blue bottom half like that of a goat, and the top half of a man that was pale blue in color, royal blue horns sprouting from its head. Its muscles bulged as it hefted the sword that it held, giving us only a slight thought of its unimaginable power. Smaller versions of him rushed into the arena with him, wielding smaller version of the same weapon. We all rushed at the monster and chaos ensured. I made sure to keep Chris close to the smaller and lower leveled monsters so that he wouldn’t have too much trouble defending himself as I rushed in to take hits at the boss. I spotted Kirito, the other high level player, with a red haired girl. They were focusing mainly on the boss while everyone else was struggling with the boss’ extras.   
I was getting plenty of experience from killing the extras but I decided I want to level up from this, and so I told Chris to be careful before running in with Kirito and the girl, attacking the boss in-between their strikes. The boss hit me with the back of his off arm and sent me flying into Chris right before Kirito landed the final blow though, which meant he got the majority of the experience. I still leveled up, so Kirito and I were on equal playing fields as we had been only moments before.   
The guy that had protested about beta testers yesterday started yelling at Kirito for not saving the blue haired guy who had been leading the assault team. Apparently he had been run through right in front of the Black Swordsman. During this argument I helped Chris up and we limped toward the door to the next floor, supporting each other.  
“Shouldn’t we stay to see how this pans out?” Chris asked and I shook my head.  
“We need to get moving, stay ahead of the game, remember?” Chris looked back and then nodded as he pulled him through the door into the next floor. We stepped through a small tunnel of white light and emerged into a world that looked like it belonged right outside of the Town of Beginnings, fields rolled on endlessly, green grass and blooming wildflowers only interrupted by the sky reaching down to touch it, adding a surreal sense of endlessness to the fields.   
“Hey Damian?” Chris asked as we walked down the trail that was heading toward the first village of the second floor, Urubus. The trail was flanked on both sides by rolling fields that seemed to be less full of life than the ones on floor one had been. The grass was yellow, and I didn’t spot a single wildflower among the grass.  
“Yeah?” I responded, still walking. Chris suddenly grabbed me by the shoulder and I turned.  
“What?” I asked with a little more attitude than I had intended and Chris sighed.  
***  
“Look, I just wanted to ask you something….I was curious. Are you….y’know, gay?” I was taken aback, blood rushing to my cheeks and I turned around, afraid that Chris would see.  
“I, uh, well….I’m….”   
“Damien, you don’t have to be scared. I mean, we’re in a death game, no one is going to care if you’re gay when they’re fighting for their lives, right?”   
“Probably not, but I’m just afraid of what will happen when we get out of the game.” I responded, walking forward once more.  
“Damien. Stop, please.” Chris said grabbing me once more, and I spun around, tears now streaming down my cheeks. Chris looked stunned by this. The clouds that usually covered the vivid blue of his eyes had melted away, and now they shone brightly not only with happiness from our victory, but now with concern.   
“Damien, what’s wrong?” he asked I shook my head, tears now flying.  
“I just…I can’t tell anyone else. I already told my family and they hate me for it….just…” I stopped; suddenly overwhelmed by the pain. I fell to the ground, sobbing into my hands. Chris walked over and knelt in front of me as I sobbed. Eventually when I hadn’t stopped Chris put his arms around me.  
“We need to get moving.” He whispered and I shook my head.  
“No, I don’t want to go on.” I said through tears and Chris frowned.   
“Well, you promised to protect me. You helped me, now I’ll help you.” He said before picking me up. My arms instantly went around his neck for support, looking up into Chris’ determined eyes, set forward on the city that we walked toward. It was at that moment that I knew my entire objective. I would protect Chris. I would get Chris to the end of the game, and I would make sure that he got back to his family in the real world, and his friends. As these thoughts ran through my mind I realized just how tired I was, and soon I was falling asleep, my head against Chris’ chest.   
Chapter 3  
Against my wishes, Chris got us a room at the inn in Urubus. It was a quaint room, all the furnishing were wood. A dark hard wood made up the floor, the only thing I could see that wasn’t wooden in the room was the mattress on the bed and the blanket and pillow on top of that. There was a single window on the wall opposite the door. Chris had put me in the bed where I lay, curled up under the blanket with my head against the mattress; I had given Chris the pillow.  
“What was it like for the last month?” I asked Chris as I lay there, looking up at him. He smiled at me, his face only illuminated by the candle that I had lit that sat on the bedside table.   
“Well, it was….scary. It was really scary. For the first week or so I was in complete denial. I kept trying to log out, and I didn’t do anything at all. Then I realized I had to try and get serious if I wanted to survive. I started hunting, getting better at using my axe. I got stronger, and got more gold. Everything was going well until I realized I would have to leave the floor eventually. That’s when I got scared again. I had already been torn from one comfort zone, and I knew that I would have to leave the only one I had here. That’s why I’m happy you showed up Damien, you’ve helped me have the courage to keep going. Can I ask you something though?”  
“Sure Chris, what is it?”  
“What was the month like for you, being a loner and all?” I frowned, recalling some of the nights that I had experienced on my own. In particular the night after I had first slept, when the reality of everything had really sunk in. No matter how much my family said they hated me I had cried for hours over the thought of never seeing them again.   
“It was….not much different than my norm. I mean….I’m used to being alone. Not many people at school notice me. I don’t have many friends, but I still felt alone. I felt scared. I didn’t sleep for the first three days. I told people that it was because I was too busy or determined to get things done, but I was terrified. Part of me told me that if I fell asleep I would never wake up, that I would somehow die in my sleep. I didn’t know why I jumped to that conclusion but if you’re alone and surrounded by scared and desperate people I guess you just start seeing the possibilities. I kept myself busy after those few days though. Some days I would want to talk to someone, and then I would realize I was still all alone, and I would cry. I usually don’t cry very often, but the thought of dying alone made me scared enough that I had to cry to get it out.”  
“You? Scared? That doesn’t seem possible.” Chris said with a smile. It wasn’t the grin that he had given me when I had given him the party invite, or the one he had shown when we had beaten the boss. It was more sincere, more…connecting. For some reason it comforted me. It let me know that there was something there that meant I was safe.   
“You look tired Damien, you should get some sleep. We need to keep moving, right?” I smiled at Chris, remembering how I had told him the same thing only the day before.   
“That’s right Chris, we have to stay one step ahead of the game.” I whispered as I felt sleep start to overtake me.   
“Chris?” I whispered as I felt myself being pulled down into sleep.  
“Yeah?” he responded and I held my hand out to him.  
“Don’t leave me, please.” I muttered and Chris smiled slightly, taking my hand in his. The first thing I noticed was how soft his skin was compared to mine, it was like his hand was made of velvet while mine was made of burlap. This connection, this touch, it was insignificant in the grand scheme of everything, but it made me feel safe. I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face, holding onto the one connection I had to happiness in Aincrad.   
***   
It took us three weeks. Three weeks and Chris and I made it to the boss room on the second floor. I had replaced my starting gear with a set of light black armor, and Chris had gotten his hand on some traditional looking plate armor that was a brilliant light color. I had level up to level twenty seven, and Chris was now level twenty three. I was using a sword known as Mars’ Wrath. It was the same weight and length as my last sword, but the damage output was much higher, and it glowed with a faint orange aura. Chris’ axe was the same one he had gotten from the dungeon on the first floor, it was just upgraded now. Both of our armor sets had small signs of wear, considering that we’d had to fight through the dungeon not only once, but multiple times to make it to the boss. The dungeon was very knight themed, with all of the mobs being knights wearing the crest of a red dragon on their armor and shields. They wield swords similar to my own, just with less damage output. The dungeon itself resembled the halls of a great medieval castle; the walls and floor were great white marble, giving off an illusion of innocence and purity.   
The boss door was smaller than the last one, instead of being grandiose and towering over Chris and I it seemed to be only a couple feet bigger than Chris himself. Inside the boss room I didn’t see any extras, only the boss himself. He knelt in the center of the room, wearing armor that resembled Chris’ in style but had the same color scheme as mine. The only difference between the two of us and the boss was that in front of him a towering shield lay, and in his right hand he held a large black iron mace that was rusted from what would seem to be blood even though Chris and I were the first to get to the boss. The room was silent, I could hear the boss’ breathing, as well as my own. I could even hear my heart thumping in my ears as my adrenaline suddenly spiked.   
“Let’s go.” I said and walked into the room, drawing my sword. I made note of my health, my HP gauge was three-quarters full. Chris, on the other hand, was still almost at full health. Since he had been leveling up he’d been getting a lot tougher. His strength skill was going up while my speed and dexterity were increasing, making me harder to hit but a much more fragile opponent. The knight raised his head to look at us and across my screen flashed the name “Knight King Rendal.” Chris must have seen it too because I saw him look over at me.  
“Ready to dethrone the king here?” he asked as he hefted his axe, holding it with both hands. I held my sword with both hands as well and nodded.  
“Let’s do this.” I said before rushing at the black-armored king. My first strike landed on the king’s knee, bringing him down to one knee as I jumped back and lunged again, this time aiming for the king’s head. The knight snapped up at the last minute and used his shield to bash me away, sending me flying across the room. Chris knew not to worry though, and instead finished my attack by slamming his axe into the knight’s breastplate, sending him sprawling backwards. I hit the marble ground with a loud crack before slowly getting up at the same pace as the gigantic king. Chris lifted his axe to swing again but was interrupted by a quick strike by the king, this time with his mace. A quarter of Chris’ HP disappeared instantly and he went flying backwards. I rushed forward and buried my blade into the king’s back up to the hilt. As I was going to withdraw my blade though, the king thrashed and I hit the ground, hard. When I looked up the king was standing over me with his mace over his head, ready to strike. Fear gripped me then. The last thing I thought of was Chris’ smiling face as the king started to swing the mace down. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my own death as it happened in what seemed to be slow motion.   
I heard a sickening crunch, which I assumed to be my own body being crushed by the great weight of the king’s mace, but when I opened my eyes I found that I was alive, and the king lay in a heap under Chris who was breathing heavily, a red aura emanating from him. He reached down and picked up the king’s mace since his own axe was still buried in the knight’s king back. Chris hefted the mace, which should have been much too heavy for even him to carry, and bought it crashing down upon the helm of the king.  
My hud flashed with congratulations and I leveled up twice, regaining all of my HP. I also saw that I had received a new skill called “Wrath of God.” I decided I would check it out later.   
“Get anything good, Chris?” I asked with a smile and he laughed.  
“Oh yeah, I got Rendal’s Mace.” He said, equipping the more human sized version of the mace, holding it with both hands. It looked fitting for Chris’ strong frame.   
“Well, looks like there’s a new knight king.” I said with a smile and Chris shrugged.  
“I don’t like the thought of being a king, but I love the weapon. No time to play around though, we should be going, shouldn’t we?” I nodded and Chris helped me up. After we made sure everything was in order we walked toward the exit door, which was a large wooden door on the opposite side of the room from where we had entered.   
The first thing I saw in floor three was a sprawling mountain range, kind of like the small one on floor one. The grey landscape sprawled out in all directions, and each mountain was topped with a cone of pure white snow.   
“So, I’m guessing we’re going to have to climb mountains at some point?” Chris asked nervously and I turned to look back at him with raised brow, confused by his nervous tone.  
“Yeah, probably, is that a problem?” I replied, answering Chris’ question with one of my own I suppose.  
“I’m afraid of heights.” Chris confessed, looking down when he did. I smiled slightly at this, the guy had just gone toe-to-toe with a nine foot tall knight king and now he was telling me that he was afraid to climb the mountains in this world.  
“Well, I guess now is as good of a time as ever to conquer your fear, isn’t that right?” I asked and Chris nodded, looking up at the cloud covered sky before looking back at me.   
“Let’s get moving, the faster we get through here the faster I won’t have to worry about my phobia.” Chris said, putting his mace on his back before starting to walk. I took up stride beside him, observing the barren landscape as we walked.   
“Thanks for saving me back there Chris…..I thought I was done for.” I said and Chris smiled, looking down at me.   
“It was my pleasure. I mean, if you died I don’t know what I would do. You’ve been a pillar for me since we joined up.” Chris told me and I nodded.  
“Well, you’ve been the same for me. Ever since that first night on floor two.” I admitted and Chris blushed slightly.  
That connection that Chris and I had established when we had partied up was growing stronger. I could trust him now; I didn’t have to worry about saving him as much. Part of me thought that if I died Chris would be able to take care of himself. Somehow that bought me comfort.   
Chapter 4  
“You can look now Chris.” I told him as we reached the summit of the mountain. I had been leading Chris by his hand the entire time as we had climbed the mountain, making our way to Latrea. The town seemed to be perched on the peak of the mountain, and resembled The Town of Beginnings almost identically. The only difference was that Latrea seemed more lived in. Some of the buildings showed signs of wear, and the streets weren’t nearly as clean as they had been in the starting towns. I made note of this as Chris and I walked through the streets.   
“Are we the first ones here?” Chris asked and I pulled up my menu, curious about this myself. The map revealed that there was someone else here too, Kirito. I was starting to get annoyed by the Black Swordsman. He always seemed to be right beside us, or even right ahead of us. Just around a kilometer away I could see the indicators for Blake and Amelia, Inda was nowhere to be seen on the map though. I didn’t want to assume the worst for the young woman who had been so friendly to me, so I just let myself believe that she joined a guild or something.  
“Damien, do we have any quests left to do today?” Chris asked and I swiped the menu right to check our quest log. Everything that we had picked up on our way to Latrea had been completed already, and our rewards were being transferred. Latrea itself wasn’t very populated by NPCs, and none of them gave quests, so we didn’t really have much to do. Floor Three had been the easiest of all the floors, I had only leveled up twice, and Chris had leveled up three times. Kirito and I were constantly on the same level, and Chris was usually a couple of levels higher than other players. The only way I had really improved on this floor was by maxing out my sword and repairing my armor. Chris had revealed to me that the red aura was an ability he had gained called Bloodrage. If he dropped below half health he could activate the ability, boosting his damage to double its original stat while draining his health steadily. He hadn’t used his ability since our battle with Rendal. I still hadn’t used my Wrath of God ability because I was worried about the consequences of using it. Each ability in SAO was balanced. There were some players who could revive other players, but had to forfeit their own lives in the process. I was afraid that my ability would insta-kill me if I used it.  
“Do you want to get a room in the inn tonight or head out to a village and see if we find a place to sleep there?” Chris asked and I shrugged.  
“That’s up to you, I mean; you’re the one who handles all of our gold.” I replied as I scrolled back to the map.  
“I know, but I just want to make sure. I know that you prefer staying in the outdoors.” I looked over at Chris and noticed that his eyes were shining blue, he seemed happy. His golden hair shone under the streetlamps, which also illuminated his armor, bringing out the highlights in the silver metal. He was stunning.   
“Well, well, if it isn’t the two beaters.” I heard from behind me. I turned to see that Blake and Amelia had arrived, seemingly out of nowhere. Blake was still wearing his trench coat, but he had a better sword than he’d had the last time I saw him. Amelia was wearing a white set of armor with red highlights. She still had no weapon, only the talisman on her hip.  
“What do you want, Blake?” I asked with a frown and the older boy laughed, his cruel eyes glimmering.  
“Well, I want to see how strong you really are. You two have been progressing as fast as the Black Swordsman, and I don’t think you’re doing it legitimately. I want you to duel me, prove to me that you’re strong.” I saw Chris scowl from beside me as he pulled his mace off of his back.  
“Are you questioning Damien’s integrity? I’ll fight you myself and show you that we’re much stronger than you are.” I looked over at Chris, surprised by his sudden boldness. He seemed to see my confused expression and smiled.  
“Don’t worry Damien, this punk won’t beat me. I’ll show him that we’re really the best.” I nodded and smiled nervously, Chris was still not the most experienced fighter, and I had no idea how Blake fought his battles.  
The duel request popped up in front of Chris. See, in SAO duels are basically the way that people can settle arguments without killing each other. Your HP can drop to 1, but no farther than that. No matter what happens in a duel, you’ll always live, when you’re not dueling in a guild war anyway, that’s why I wasn’t terribly worried about Chris. Chris smiled and accepted the duel request, holding the mace in one hand. Chris held his mace in both hands, waiting as the time counted down. Blake, on the other hand, had yet to draw his blade. He just stood there, staring Chris down with his arms crossed over his chest.   
When the countdown finished Chris lunged at Blake with his mace, a heavy overhead swing. Blake took a step back, avoiding the strike before planting his foot in Chris’ chest and shoving him backwards. Chris didn’t stumble though; instead he picked up the mace again and swung a horizontal strike at Blake’s ribs. Blake ducked under the hammer, grabbing Chris’ arm after it passed over his head. Blake twisted Chris’ arm, making him drop his mace before planting himself against the taller man and flipping him over his shoulder. Chris hit the ground hard with a loud smash. It was at this point that I noticed that Blake was radiating a light blue aura, a passive ability.  
See, abilities that were combat oriented radiated a red aura when used, while passive abilities radiated a blue aura. I knew my Wrath of God was a combat ability; the one time that I had activated it I’d radiated an almost crimson aura. I wondered about what Blake’s ability was though, he hadn’t taken a hit so it wasn’t a healing ability. It took me a second to realize what it was until Chris tried to do a spinning low sweep from the ground, something he didn’t telegraph at all. Despite this Blake jumped back, avoiding Chris’ leg and then kicking him in the face. He had a premonition ability, I had heard about it before. The strategists in the game had spoken about it. The idea of the ability was that if you activated it you could see your enemy’s attacks before they were done.   
I got scared when Blake pulled out his blade. Chris stumbled to his feet, holding his face where his nose was bleeding. Blake rushed forward and slashed across Chris’ chest, opening a gap in his armor and sending Chris back to the ground, inhaling sharply from the pain. Blake then pushed his sword through Chris’ chest, I heard Chris gasp from the pain before Blake was declared the victor. Blake pulled his sword from Chris’ chest and sheathed it at his side once more. I ran over to Chris and helped him up gently as I watched his health slowly regenerate. He gasped in pain when he moved his chest and I tried to support him, though it was awkward considering he was taller than I. Blake walked back over to Amelia, who stood there with concern written plainly on her sharp features, though if it was for Chris or Blake I didn’t know.   
“Let’s go Amelia, we’ve got things to do.” Blake said before walking away, Amelia turning to follow him quickly. I felt tears hit my hair and I looked up to see that Chris was crying.   
“What’s wrong? Does it really hurt that bad?” I asked with concern and Chris shook his head.  
“No Damien…..no, it’s not the wounds. It’s the fact that I failed you. I told you that I would show him we were the best and I didn’t. I’m sorry.” I reached up and put my hand on Chris’ cheek, wiping away his tears.  
“Chris, don’t cry, please. You didn’t fail me. Blake has a power that we can’t combat. You did your best and you took more punishment than most people could.” Chris just looked down at the ground, his blue eyes which had been shining vividly minutes before were once again clouded like they had been almost two months ago.   
I shook my head, slightly annoyed by Chris’ persistence. I walked him over to one of the benches and sat him down. Chris slumped against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, grimacing in pain as his health continued to regenerate.   
“Damien…. Thank you for helping me, so much. You got me up this mountain, even if it did get me into a duel.” He laughed lightly and I smiled.   
**  
“I couldn’t possibly leave you behind now, Chris.”  
“Why, is there some kind of big reason why you wouldn’t want to leave me all of a sudden?” I bit my lip when Chris asked me this, worried about how he would react to what I was about to say.  
“Well Chris…..I…I can’t leave you behind because I’ve fallen in love with you.” Chris looked up, a shocked expression on his face.  
“Are you…are you serious, Damien?” he asked and I nodded nervously. Chris smiled and held his hand out to me, which I took in my own. I couldn’t feel his hand this time, both of us had gloves which covered our hands. Chris smiled as I felt him gently squeeze my hand.  
“I love you too, Damien.” He whispered and I grinned, feeling my heart do a backflip in my chest. For a minute I was scared that it would start beating out of my chest like in the old cartoons. We’d had a rough day, and Chris had fought hard, but this somehow made it all worth it.  
Chapter 5  
The cold wind chilled me to the bone as I lay next to Chris under the only blanket we had while lying next to a small fire we’d managed to get started. Floor Four was an iced over version of Hell. There was little to no food, we had yet to find a town, and the floor seemed to be in a perpetual blizzard. Chris put his arms around me, which didn’t help; he was just as cold as I was. It was like being hugged by a living ice cube.  
“It’s way too cold. We need to find some better clothes.” Chris whispered as I lay there with him. I could barely hear him over the howling wind.We had attempted to use our teleportation crystals, but they seemed to be blocked throughout the entire floor, forcing us to endure the cold in the armor we had picked up in Latrea. I was in constant fear that the metal would, at some point, freeze to my skin.  
“I don’t want to freeze to death.” Chris whispered, fear creeping into his voice.  
“We won’t” I replied, though I couldn’t keep a similar fear from creeping into my own voice like the ice that was ever advancing upon us. “We’ll get through here, I promise, it’s only floor four, we can’t die here. It’s too soon.” I put my head against the ground, despite my own assurances I was scared that this would indeed be my final resting place. This cold, silent, desolate world. At this point came the first time when I truly missed my home. I missed my warm bed, I missed not having to worry about freezing to death. I wanted to be able to go home, go to school, hell, if it meant I still got to be with Chris I would do anything to get there.  
“I’m going to get more wood for the fire.” Chris said, sliding out from under the blanket and equipping his mace. I started to get up but Chris flashed me a look that told me to stay right where I was. His blue eyes were intense, telling me that he was serious about me not moving. Ever since my near death in floor two he was a lot more protective of me. Especially so after our mutual confessions in Latrea. He had barely let me go full scale into fighting the third floor’s boss. It had been a strength based boss, a giant lion headed demon wielding a great-axe. It had been very slow, which would have made me very useful, but Chris insisted that I stay out of the fighting as long as I could. His eyes had told me the same thing that they told me now, though in a much different situation.   
I was worried about this, I loved Chris, that’s true, but I had never, ever been reliant on someone else like I am with him. I have never been so subservient to someone. Just a look from him stops me from doing something I would usually do when directly instructed not to. I don’t understand it, and I’m afraid it’s going to get the best of me. Chris came back a few minutes later with a bundle of dry wood in his arms, cradled to his chest. He put about a third of the bundle on the fire, moving and shifting it around so the flames would grow higher. One thing I had learned about Chris since we’d been on this harsh level was that he was quite the survivalist. He’d managed to forage some edible roots that grew under the snow, he’d been able to start a fire without a flint and steel, and he’d even built us a shelter the night before this one, which we had to abandon in order to move on.   
“Damien.” Chris’ voice broke my concentration, and the silence of the area. He still had his back to me, pure white snow falling into his golden hair and his armor. He turned and glanced back at me, making sure I was listening before he continued.   
“I’m going to go and look for the dungeon in the morning. I want you to stay here and make sure the fire stays lit. I’ll come back and get you when I find the dungeon.” He said. I was stunned by this, was he implying that I was weak? Part of me told me that Chris just wanted me safe, but the other said that he was implying that he was stronger than me. If I had been conscious enough to do so I would’ve gotten very angry, but instead I was just numb, sitting there with a frown on my face before saying.  
“No Chris, I’m not going to sit here and do nothing while you go searching for the dungeon. If you get lost there’s a chance that we won’t be able to find each other, the maps and other parts of the menu haven’t functioned correctly here.” Chris turned, standing straight up, towering over my prone form. In response I got up, trying to make myself seem not so small, though I was still looking up at Chris, craning my neck slightly to look him in the eyes.  
“I am not letting you go with me. Your clothes are even lighter than mine, and you’ve refused to eat everything I’ve offered. You’re too weak to come trudging through the snow with me all day looking for the dungeon. If you do that you’ll freeze to death.” Chris’ voice suddenly got very commanding, though the underlying tone of caring and concern was still there. “I will not watch you die, so you will stay here and keep yourself warm. Am I understood?” Chris stressed each word of his last sentence. Some of his words stung me. I had never been called weak before. I wanted to protest, to sling some words at him as well to level the playing field, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I just nodded slowly and sat back down. Tears were stinging at the corners of my eyes but I wouldn’t let Chris see them, I would let him use them against me to say I was weaker than I was. Chris walked over and sat down next to me, putting the blanket around my shoulders as I gazed into the fire. In response I pulled the other corner over his shoulders, shrouding us both and leaving our faces exposed, though they were warmed by the greater flame of the fire.   
I lost myself in thought; not even noticing when Chris had fallen asleep and had his head leant against my shoulder. I waited, long enough until I heard his light breathing over the crackle and pop of the fire. When I was certain that he was fast asleep I slowly moved out from under him, lying him down before I covered him with the blanket.  
Chris’ words had struck me. I would not be called weak. I had always wanted to be strong, and in SAO I had become truly powerful. I was able to kill bosses double my size, go through entire dungeons without breaking a sweat. I was strong, and Chris was denying that. I had to prove him wrong. I would go and find the dungeon on my own, and then come back and get him. I’d leave a trail back somehow, and then I’d show Chris just how good I was. He wouldn’t have thought of that. So, with determination in my heart and written on my eyes I started my trek through the snowy wasteland. I avoided the forest, Chris and I had already gone there. I instead walked straight through the wasteland, looking back every once in a while. When I could no longer see the dim flame of our fire I felt desperately alone. All I could hear was the sound of the whistling wind around me, and all I could feel was the cold imposing itself on me, chilling me to my core. Despite this I kept moving, one foot in front of the other, slowly, ever so slowly, making my way across this wasteland. All I could see was the white snow whipping around me, blinding me even ten feet in advance. At one point I stumbled upon footprints, following them until I came upon a second set, right next to the original. I had gone in a circle, three times. At this point I started running, terrified. I could not tell in any way where I was going. I closed my eyes, terrified that I would come upon another set of my own footprints and ran. I ran right into an iron door. I smacked into it, flopping back when I hit it and stared up at the grey clouds. I groaned and slowly sat up. The door had opened, and inside there was a sprawling lit up street, like that of a city. The dungeon. I got up slowly and stumbled in, warmth hitting me as I fell through the door. I lay on the ground, panting, as I curled up into a ball.   
Eventually I came to my senses and opened my menu. The map was working, and I could see where Chris was, about two kilometers away. My teleportation crystal was also working now; it glowed with a faint blue light. I briefly wondered how I would manage to get back to Chris before the warmth pulled me into sleep.  
I woke slowly; the world around me wasn’t snowy anymore. For a moment I wondered where I was exactly. I then remembered that I had found the dungeon. This alleyway looked like one in Latrea, dirty and decrepit. The fronts of the buildings seemed to be constantly damp, like ice had at one point been growing on them but had since melted away. It was still better than the barren wasteland outside though. I stood, opening my menu and checking my map. Chris wasn’t where he had been before, and I started to search my map for his indicator before I felt a pair of cold, metal-plated arms wrap tight around me. When this happened I wanted to jump, I was about to elbow the person to get them off of me before I heard a familiar voice.  
“Don’t ever do something like that again, you terrified me.” I heard Chris’ voice in my ear and I turned to face him. The area around his eyes were puffy, and his eyes were bloodshot like he’d been crying.   
“When’d you get here?” I asked drowsily and Chris leant his head against mine.  
“About five minutes ago. I thought you were dead Damien, when I was out in the storm I couldn’t see your HP gauge, I thought you had died….I didn’t know what to do.” Chris said as new tears started to stream down his cheeks.   
“Don’t cry Chris, I’m alright, and we found the dungeon.” I comforted, patting him on the back, my other hand now resting in his. “We can finally get out of this place. Come on, we need to get moving.” I said as I put my hands on his chest, trying to bring him back to reality. Chris nodded and let me go. I turned and looked down the alleyway.   
“Do you have any idea what’s in here?” Chris asked as he wiped away what remained of his tears.  
“No idea.” I confessed, equipping my blade as I started to walk forward. I honestly barely had any idea as to what to feel right now. I had managed to find the dungeon, I had gotten out of the icy hell that this floor was, but I’d terrified Chris. I felt bad about that, more than bad, I felt terrible. I never wanted to scare Chris, I had wanted to help him. The only good thing about it was that Chris wasn’t angry with me. He just seemed distraught still.   
The dungeon itself seemed to be barrenly empty, with each turn leading to an identical alley to the one I had just been walking down. As far as I saw there were no enemies here….the place was completely dead.   
The boss door was made of ice. Chris and I had encountered no mobs in the dungeon, which was odd to me. Usually the dungeons were chocked full of enemies to help you level up on the way to the boss, but this dungeon had been just as desolate as the floor outside. I looked at the door, contemplating how to open it. There were no keyholes or handles. Beyond the door I could hear the sound of deep breathing, whatever was beyond the ice was definitely not human. After I had examined the door for a few minutes Chris walked over with his mace.  
“Stand back.” He said as he held his mace with both hands, examining the ice. I nodded and took a few steps back, hoping that what Chris was doing would work. Chris hefted the mace over his head and bought it down with a startling crack against the ice. The door instantly began to fall apart, revealing what lay beyond. A large snow leopard was standing in the center of the room, staring Chris and I down with icy blue eyes as we walked in to the boss room. It was huge, muscular, and had fangs that looked eerily like the ice sickles that used to form outside of my window during winter. Light grey splotches dotted its fur, and the growl that emanated from its throat filled the entire room, if not the entire dungeon.   
“Snow Creature, Glacius” The text screen came up in my HUD. I drew my sword but Chris rushed ahead first. The leopard instantly leapt at Chris, batting him aside with one flick of its paw. Chris hit the ground hard, but rolled backward to come back to a standing posture. I rushed forward while Glacius was distracted and managed to get a few hits on its legs before it tried to hit me. I dodged the leopard’s strikes and retreated back as Chris rushed at the beast with his mace, landing a heavy blow on its left shoulder. The beast let out a roar of anger and hit Chris aside harder this time before pouncing on him, claws piercing Chris’ armor, pinning him to the ground. I saw Chris’ HP gauge quickly depleting, until it went into the red. Time seemed to slow down as terror overtook me. Chris was dying; the man I loved was dying right in front of me. I had to do something; I couldn’t just let him die. At this moment I knew I had no other choice, I couldn’t finish off Glacius fast enough to save Chris without risking it all. I activated Wrath of God, and was instantly enveloped in a bright red aura. I rushed forward, holding my blade with both hands and jumping, bringing my blade down on the neck of the beast. There was a blinding light and I saw all of Glacius’ life bars deplete instantly, the beast shattering into a million pieces of data. At the same time my currently full HP gauge plummeted until I only had one HP left. Chris still had plenty, and he had leveled up, restoring his HP. I had leveled up as well, but I hadn’t received a recharge of health, obviously a side effect of using the ability.  
“Damien, what in the world was that?” Chris asked as he slowly stood up. I stood there, hunched over as I fought to stay conscious. When Chris realized my condition he quickly rushed forward, catching me just as I started to fall forward.   
Chapter 6  
Floor Ten. We were a tenth of the way through the game. Over the past five floors we had fought through countless enemies, done hours of miscellaneous quests, and fought some very underwhelming boss monsters. We were finally hear though, the Castle of Snakes. It was a huge place, a single location that made up the entire floor. Chris and I had taken up refuge in a room on one of the lower floors of the castle. It was extravagant, reminding me of the building back in Floor One that Chris used to live in. A canopied four poster bed was in one corner, flamboyant and expensive looking rugs from unknown lands were scattered across the floor in artistic styles. The only window was framed by burgundy curtains that hung down all the way to the floor. The room was perpetually quiet since most other players hadn’t made it here yet. Kirito, Blake, and Amelia were the only three that Chris and I knew of on this floor besides us. It was almost April; we had been in the game for five months. That seemed unreal to me. It had taken a month in the game for me to fall for Chris, and we had been together as a party for four months. Over the past five floors I had picked up a black greatsword called Adjudicator, a weapon that I had to hold in both hands to use even though my strength was very high. Chris had abandoned his mace on Floor Eight, instead trading it for an Ultragreatsword, which was nearly as tall as he was. It was called the Buster Sword, and it was a one edged sword with an intricate guard, the blade itself was eighteen inches across. I couldn’t imagine wielding it, but Chris didn’t even have trouble carrying it around with one hand. We had both found better armor on Floor Eight, and we had found clothes for colder climates that we kept in our inventories. Chris’ new armor resembled that of the Knights of the Blood Oath, red with white highlights. The Knights of the Blood Oath were a guild that had been recruiting in the Town of Beginnings for a long time, and they were one of the strongest guilds besides the Holy Dragons or the assassins of the Laughing Coffins. It was lighter than the armor he’d been wearing since floor two, and was fitted to his figure. My armor was a light silver set, a black cloak draped around it to cover my armor from the eyes of attacking players, giving them the illusion that I was unprotected.  
As the run rose on the seventh day, a pop up telling me that the sun had just risen, that Chris and I had been in the Castle I got out of bed, stretching with a yawn. Chris was still asleep, the book he had been reading the night before on the nightstand next to the bed. I was about to walk into the adjoining bathroom to bathe until I heard a knock on the door. I raised a brow and walked over, equipping my armor and my blade as I opened the door. I was surprised when I recognized the person standing on the other side.  
Inda stood there with three Knights of the Blood Oath standing behind her. She was wearing the armor of one of their high ranking officials, two crosses were attached to her collar, showing her status, and she wore multiple war decorations on her sleeves. Most of these were simple stripes of color. I didn’t know all of the accolades but I knew that one of them was for successfully leading a full regiment of knights into battle against another guild. I noticed, with some amusement, that the colors of the guild were braided into her hair with obvious pride.   
“Hey, Inda….nice to see you again.” I said nervously and she smiled. She smiled in return, as though she were trying to break the tension.   
“Same to you, Damien. I imagine you’re curious as to why the knights are with me?” she asked, gesturing to her stoic companions before continuing “Don’t worry, we’re not here to hurt you or Chris. We actually came to ask for your guys’ help. Do you mind if we come in?” I glanced back at Chris, who was just starting to get up and smiled back at Inda.   
“Sure, just give me a minute to make sure Chris is awake before you guys come in, wouldn’t want him to be surprised.” I said and turned, shutting the door to a crack and walking over to Chris, I heard one of Inda’s knights say something about me being insubordinate, which ticked me off, but I ignored him.  
“Morning Chris.” I said as I sat next to him on the bed. Chris yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes before looking down at me.  
“Were you talking to someone a minute ago?” he asked curiously, peering toward the door, and I nodded.  
“Someone came here to ask for our help with the Castle, Inda’s leading some Knights of the Blood Oath, she seems to be one of their high ranking officers now.” Chris nodded, standing up and equipping his armor.  
“Let them in, I’m curious to hear what she has to say” he said as he walked over to the center of the room and stood with his arms folded across his chest like one of the statues of legendary adventurers that had littered the Town of Beginnings. I walked back over to the door and opened it for Inda and he knights, smiling as I did. Inda returned my smile before waking into the room, two of her knights following while the other two stood outside the door.   
“It’s nice to see you again Damien, it really is, but you have to understand that we don’t have much time to catch up.” She said, brusquely getting to the point, fingering the decorations on her sleeve. She stood almost opposite to Chris “I’m supposed to be focusing solely on clearing the castle, the only thing is that it’s hard for me to do that alone. I mean, I do have a few of the knights with me, but they haven’t been on the front lines like you guys have. I also saw that Kirito, Blake and Amelia are all on this floor. I know you guys don’t like any of them, but I think that if we all team up we’ll easily be able to clear this dungeon and defeat the boss.” Chris gave me a wary glance, obviously nervous at the prospect of joining forces with Blake.  
“Look Inda, you weren’t there when Blake nearly killed Chris.”  
“It was a duel, he couldn’t have killed him.” Inda interrupted my thought, which frustrated me slightly.  
“The facts remain the same, he stabbed Chris. I don’t know if I can join forces with him.”  
“Look, we need all the help we can get here. I don’t think even the two of you together could take the Basilisk alone.” She said, shaking her head. “I lost two of my best knights to it” she said as she looked down at her booted feet. I frowned. Chris and I had seen the giant serpent slithering around. Neither of us wanted to fight it really, but I knew that neither of us wanted to team up with Blake and Amelia either. I turned to Chris, momentarily ignoring Inda.  
“Look Chris, the faster we get through here the faster we can start moving through the next floors. The faster we do that means that we’ll be out of here sooner. I don’t like Blake either, but Inda is right. We’ll need all the help we can get to kill the Basilisk. I think we should take the offer.” Chris considered this, and then nodded in agreement. Inda smiled brightly, which looked odd over her gleaming and battle-ready armor.   
“Great, if you guys want I’ll talk to Blake and Amelia myself.” She offered Chris didn’t allow me to reply before he spoke.  
“I think that’s the best idea, tell Blake if I see him before we get to the Basilisk I will personally use him as bait.” Inda frowned, obviously not enjoying the idea of this, before nodding.  
“I’ll make sure to tell him you guys think this is a good idea.” She said, nodding before turning and walking out of the room, her knights followed her in an orderly line, and the last one closed the door behind him after shooting Chris and I a glare.  
“That’s not what I said.” Chris muttered as he sat down, unequipping his armor. Underneath he was wearing the purple shirt and pants from the starting armor that we both shared. I sat down in a chair across from him, reflecting his expression.  
“Like I said, I don’t like it either Chris, but we need them to get through here.” Chris nodded, agreeing solemnly.   
“I know, it makes complete sense. I just don’t like it.” He said crossing his arms over his chest and pouting like an angry child. This bought a smile to my face; it wasn’t often that he did something like this, so it always made me smile when he did.   
We met up with Blake, Amelia, Kirito, Inda, and her knights later that day after a prompting message from Inda. We met up in a hallway a few rooms down from Chris and I’s. Amelia and Blake didn’t look any different than they had in Latrea, they even seemed to be wearing the same armor sets that they’d been wearing when we saw them. Kirito was wearing his trademark black cloak, and his sword was slung across his back. He black hair fell down into almost black-blue eyes that looked solemn, not really displaying much emotion. This guy was annoying to me. I knew he had been a beta tester, hell, everyone knew that. He always looked depressed for some reason or another.   
“So, we’re all agreed to have a temporary treaty while we hunt the Basilisk, right?’ she asked hopefully. Blake and Amelia reluctantly nodded and Kirito shrugged, not really caring. He had always been a solo player, and he never really seemed interested in helping or hurting others. I can understand that idea though. If I hadn’t been in love with Chris I wouldn’t have teamed up with him in the first place. We all moved as a unit down the halls of the castle, each of us with weapons drawn. At one point I walked close to Amelia, intending to ask how far down she and Blake had gotten in the castle. When I got close I heard Blake’s curt instructions from her other side.  
“Step away from my wife.” He growled and I raised a brow, glancing at Amelia before asking.  
“What do you mean? Aren’t you two a little young to be married?” I asked, loud enough for Blake to hear. Amelia didn’t look at me.  
“Maybe in the real world,” he replied “but in here it’s different. Along with all the parts of a normal marriage we share an inventory, meaning that we can’t hide things from each other. This kind of commitment takes complete trust.” He bragged, putting an arm around Amelia’s shoulder, smiling gloatingly. Amelia slipped her arm around Blake’s waist and returned the smile. Part of me doubted that Blake really cared about Amelia or trusted her, but I didn’t intend to press further. I was curious about something though.  
“Where do you get married?” I asked and Amelia looked over, answering before Blake could cut her off.  
“In The Town of Beginnings, there’s a small chapel just off of the main square; you can go there and get married.” She said simply. I nodded in reply to this, intrigued by the entire system. I glanced over to Chris at my left, who seemed to be focused on scanning the hallway for the Basilisk. I returned my concentration to the search as well, tucking the new information into the back of my mind. When we turned a corner I saw the disappearing tail of the great serpent, slithering along the beautiful identical rug that decorated the floor of every hallway. We all started running after it, intending to catch the beast. Our armor clinked in unison and our boots made muted thumps on the carpet. When we turned the corner we found that the beast had turned to face us now. The Basilisk lunged, catching one of Inda’s knights off guard and killing him instantly by sinking its huge fangs into his throat, enveloping his head in its maw in the process. Inda let out an enraged scream and charged the serpent, her knights following in tow. I lost sight of them after this, but I could still hear the occasional vengeful cry.  
I danced around the beast and swung my greatsword, striking it and making a decent dent in its first of four HP gauges. Amelia and Blake both danced around the front of the Basilisk, distracting it while the rest of us lay into it. Chris made on particularly heavy hit, placing the tip of his sword on the ground and bringing it rushing forward, hitting the Basilisk full force as he flung the sword upwards. The Basilisk went hurting into the air before landing on its back; at this point two of its HP gauges were depleted. I was surprised when the Basilisk suddenly turned on me, lashing out. I just barely managed to take a step back before averting my eyes from its paralyzing gaze and thrusting my sword forward with both hands, hitting the Basilisk in its throat. I heard it hiss in pain and rise up like a king cobra. Its black scales were shining in the lamplight, it suddenly lunged at Chris, who bought his sword up into a blocking position. The snake literally spit itself through its head on Chris’ blade, effectively killing itself before shattering into pieces. Chris stood there, panting. I grinned and then I realized what remained where the snake has been. Someone had emerged from the snake’s data. Clad in simple black clothes and lying on the floor was Sean. His bright red hair was longer than I remember it, and his pale green eyes were only starting to open.  
“Ugh, where am I?” he muttered, sitting up as he did.  
“You’re in the Castle of Snakes, Tenth Floor. Who are you?” Inda asked, sheathing her daggers as she did. Her HP gauge was in the red, bust she didn’t look any different besides a small black pin which had appeared on her collar. It seemed important, but I didn’t know its purpose.Sean looked up at her before smiling slightly.  
“My name is Sean. You must be one of the Knights of the Blood Oath, right?” He asked, clamboring slowly to his feet as though he were very stiff. Inda nodded, glancing over Sean’s clothes.  
“And you’re a Laughing Coffin, one of the game’s assassins.” She said with a frown, nodding to her remaining knights, who seized Sean. I was shocked by this. I had met up with some Laughing Coffins before, seen them do things in safe zones that should be impossible, Sean didn’t seem like he would be one of them.  
“By the orders of Sir Heathcliff, leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, all members of the Laughing Coffins are to be bought to trial. You will be taken to The Town of Beginnings for trial.” While Inda was doing this Chris had pulled up his map, pointing out where the exit was to everyone. Inda had her knights tie up Sean with some rope they had in their inventories and we all proceeded to the exit. Chris and I hung back; I was worried, not only about what I was going to ask Chris, but also about what Inda would do with Sean. Sean had been a good friend of mine and a classmate in my high school. I couldn’t begin to understand why he would have come from the boss though, I had never heard of something like this happening before. When we reached the door to Floor Eleven the others went through first, and I grabbed Chris by the hand before he walked through.  
**  
Chris turned, raising his brow as he did.   
“Something up?” he asked as I looked down at the floor, biting my lip nervously.  
“Well, I wanted to ask you something Chris.” I said quietly and he cocked his head, confused. Then a sudden look of realization crossed his features. “Chris, I know this won’t mean anything in the real world, but I trust you….and I want to be with you always. Will you marry me?” I saw a myriad of emotions cross Chris’ face all in a moment. He opened his mouth, looking like he was trying to form an answer, before closing it again. When he opened his mouth again he managed to speak.  
“I….Damien, I mean, are you sure about this? I know it’s not like we’re really getting married right now but….I’m going to take this just as seriously. Is this really what you want?” I didn’t hesitate before I nodded.  
“Yes Chris. I want to be with you, always.” I said before leaning up and pressing my lips to his.   
Chapter 7  
Chris and I had rented an apartment in the Town of Beginnings while we were staying there. We had decided that we would take a few days off of the front lines; in fact, the entire assault team was taking a few days off. Some of the Knights of the Blood Oath were trying to interrogate Sean, but they weren’t getting very far. He couldn’t remember many things to tell them when they did get anything out of him, just the names of a few of the other Laughing Coffins.  
When the sun rose on the third day of our vacation I woke up with my head on Chris’ chest, his arm around my smaller body. One of my hands was resting on Chris’ chest and the scent of the soap he had used to shower filled my nose. It was a sweet smell, but it was strong enough to overpower all the other smells in the room. It reminded me of Chris. He was sweet, soft, kind, but when he was in the room or close to me nothing else mattered.   
I noted how deathly quiet our room was, the only sound I could hear was Chris’ breathing under me, and the sounds of his heart beating when I rested an ear against his chest. The dumb, romantic side of me wanted to imagine that our hearts beat in time now, connected. I knew that was stupid though, it was just a fantasy of mine. We had yet to actually go to the chapel to get married but for the last few days Chris has been treating me as though I were already his. I had been shopping in the market two days ago and he had come up behind me and scooped me up into his arms, making my drop the food I’d been examining. I didn’t notice that the NPC shopkeeper shot me a glare when the bread hit the ground; I was already lost in Chris’ eyes. Before I had come into the game, before I had met Chris, I had hated pretty much all human contact. Even for the first month or so if Chris suddenly hugged me or held my hand I would jump away, startled by the unannounced contact. If he had pulled the stunt in the market a few weeks ago I would’ve freaked out and kicked out of his arms. I was thankful that I was over that though, it felt good to feel safe with someone’s touch.  
“Morning.” Chris muttered as I felt his hand reach up and his fingers ran through my hair gently. I looked up and saw that Chris’ eyes were barely open, and still clouded by sleep.  
“Good morning.” I replied with a smile and Chris’ toyed with one of the loose strands of my hair, which had grown longer since we’d been in the game. Where it had once been decently tidy though a little long it now grew down almost to my shoulders, and it was a horrible mess in the mornings. Chris greatly enjoyed messing with my hair when it was this way, curling a few strands around his fingers and then uncurling them.  
“How long have you been awake?” he asked, aware that I was always the one awake before him.  
“I’m not sure really, I got caught up in the peace of the moment.” I responded quietly and Chris smiled.   
“Damien, you’re getting soft on me. I never thought I’d see the day when you got caught up in lying in bed with me.” I felt blood rush to my cheeks in response to Chris’ teasing. I knew it was just that, teasing, but it still embarrassed me to think that I had indeed become somewhat of a romantic lately. Maybe that was because I’d never had someone like Chris before, and I’d honestly though that I never would.   
“Hey Damien, you know where that Chapel is right? Amelia told you?” Chris asked and I nodded. He smiled and brushed a loose bang out of my eyes.  
“Well, how about you go shower and get your hair fixed and then we can go officiate this.” He said, running a hand through his own short hair, which he somehow managed to cut cleanly with a dagger. I grinned, elated that Chris wanted to officiate our relationship, at least in SAO, we were still too young to get married in the real world…just barely.  
I went into the bathroom and stripped off the pair of short pants I had been wearing, modified myself from some of the starting gear. I turned on the shower and waited for it warm up before stepping in. I grabbed a small bottle of soap and proceeded to scrub myself all over, making sure to get any dirt or blemishes off the best that I could. When I finished my shower I stepped out into the room once more and looked into the mirror. My hair now hung down in an uneven curtain, barely brushing my shoulders. With a sigh I found a comb and set to work, getting it all looking correctly and even before I walked back out to Chris.   
Chris was standing in the middle of the room wearing his armor, his hands resting where pockets would have been on normal clothing. I smiled and walked over, leaning up to kiss his cheek as I equipped my own armor. We hadn’t bothered to get any better clothes for a wedding, I mean; we’re warriors, why by dress clothes? We would never use them again anyway.  
When I was ready Chris took my hand and we walked out into the Town of Beginnings. It hadn’t changed much since the first time I had been there, though it did look like it had actually been lived in now, which made me happy to notice. I liked to think of SAO as its own world now, and it certainly seemed inhabited despite the numerous people that had died while in this world.   
Chris and I made our way to the plaza, where the fountain still spit water into the air like it had on the day that we entered SAO. I remembered seeing Chris by the fountain, talking to some girls, before I went my own way to try and level up, to try and get stronger. It’d odd how my objectives have shifted. I’m still focused on getting stronger, on winning, but being with Chris had taken over my list of priorities at some point. We passed by a stature of a supposed long dead warrior, who I recognized as the Knight King from Floor Two. It was funny how I could go back to earlier floors and notice how thing were hinted at toward the future.   
Chris continued to pull me along until we reached the chapel. I opened the door and Chris walked in after me. The chapel itself reminded me of the Church that I had gone to when I was a kid, before I’d stopped going to church. The ceilings were high and vaulted, rows of pews led up to a single raised altar. Stained glass windows let light shine through them, illuminating the entire chapel in arrays of vivid colors that made the whole place seem almost surreal. I was surprised when I saw Inda in one of the pews, kneeling. She seemed to be saying a prayer, but finished as soon as Chris and I went to talk to her. She stood, looked our way and waved, giving us a smile, before bowing her head and walking out of the Church. I shot a glance at Chris as though I were asking what he thought that was about, he responded with a shrug before we continued to the altar, where a NPC pastor was standing, beaming at us. He was an older man, his grey hair circling the temples and back of his head, and the robes he wore greatly reminded me of Christian ministers. It was no wonder the Church was regarded as one of the allies of the Knights of the Blood Oath.  
Chris and I both approached the pastor, kneeling before him. The man smiled at us, but didn’t speak. Instead a small window popped up in front of Chris and I. It read.  
“By coming here together, you both accept that you are entering into a bond of love and trust that cannot be broken. You will share everything, and be together until such a time that your lives end, do you accept?” The usual blue and red buttons were beneath the screen. I cracked a smile and turned to look at Chris.  
“Not quite as romantic as I’d imagined.” I commented and Chris smiled, shrugging as he did.  
“As long as it’s official, and you’re mine, I don’t care.” He said before pressing the blue accept button. I did the same and a small congratulations screen popped up, declaring that we were now married, and our inventories were now shared. I heard something spawn in and looked down to see a black onyx ring on my finger. Chris had an identical one on his. A screen popped up between us asking if we’d like to engrave the rings. We both agreed to engrave them with the phrase, “until the stars fall.” When this was done Chris stood and pulled me into his arms, pressing his lips against mine suddenly. Everything felt perfect in this moment, and when Chris broke the kiss I found myself grinning as tears of joy brimmed in my eyes. When I looked at Chris I discovered that he had similar tears brimming in his own eyes.  
“I love you Chris, until the stars fall.” I whispered.  
“Until the stars fall.” He agreed.  
Chapter 8  
I woke up with the smell of Chris’ soap once again filling my nostrils. My vision was obscured and I realized this was due to the fact that my face was in the crook of his neck. Chris had his arms wrapped tight around the small of my back, holding me close to him. One of my legs was intertwined with his. A smile crept onto my face when I saw the ring on my finger where my hand was lying against Chris’ chest. It had only been a day, and this should be expected, but every time that I looked at my ring I couldn’t help but grin. It wouldn’t mean anything to the government or the church in the real world, but to Chris and me it meant that we had already pledged ourselves to each other forever.   
I looked up at Chris, how his features were relaxed in sleep. He had a slight layer of stubble growing on his jaw, little enough that I couldn’t see it except for when I was right up against him. The only thing I didn’t like about this moment was that I couldn’t see his beautiful eyes. They were his most transfixing feature, and they were still hidden in sleep.   
I shifted a bit, intending to nuzzle back into Chris and fall asleep when I felt him stir. I leant my head against his chest and I heard Chris mutter drowsily.  
“You really need to stop waking me up.” I laughed lightly as Chris reached up to gently rub my head.  
“I’ll stop when you start waking up at the same time as me.” I responded, which prompted a laugh from Chris.  
“Fair enough. You really need to cut your hair” he commented as curled a strand of hair around his finger.   
“Are you saying you don’t like my hair?” I asked, looking up at him with a pout. Chris smirked before leaning down and kissing me gently.  
“No, I don’t like it. I love it. Everything about you is perfect, Damien, it’s just getting incredibly long, and you take longer than my sister does to do her hair in the morning.” I blushed, embarrassed to be compared to Chris’ sister, who was a freshman at our school, and a huge drama queen. “Well, we don’t need to worry about it now.” Chris commented, “Sean’s trial is today, we can just find someone to cut it for you before we head back to the front lines.”  
“Hey Chris?” I asked and he raised a brow, not responding with words. “I was wondering….we have a lot of gold….and I’m tired of going everywhere and camping. I was thinking we should buy a house on floor eleven. I heard that there’s a lot of nice houses there.” Chris leant back, surprised by my idea.  
“Damien, are you sure about that? I mean, we’re used to always being on the move. If we stop and settle down aren’t you afraid that we’ll never want to push farther?”  
“Chris, my first and foremost goal is to get the both of us out of here so we can be together in real life, but I want us to have a place where we can relax and feel safe. I want us to have a home.” Chris seemed to consider my proposal before nodding, though a shadow of a doubt still clouded his eyes.  
“Alright, when we head back to Floor Eleven we’ll find a house. Now get ready, we have to go to Sean’s trial.” I was surprised by Chris’ desire to see the trial. True, we were both curious about the operations of the Knights of the Blood Oath, but Chris had never really paid any attention to Sean when we were in school together. Chris had always been in with the popular crowd while Sean and I tended to hang back in our own little clique. Despite this, I got ready. I got up and brushed my hair before equipping my armour and walking back into the main room. I haven’t mentioned, but the apartment we had been staying in was identical to every inn and apartment we had stayed in before. That seemed to be a perpetual pattern in Aincrad, but I can’t complain, I liked the rooms.  
Chris was already wearing his armour when I got into the room. He smiled when I came in.  
“Alright, let’s go, the trial starts in like half an hour.” He said and we made our way toward the Knights of the Blood Order’s HQ. The HQ was a wooden building that resembled what one would think of when they thought of an old style boarding school, but it looked more militaristic with its waving banners and armed guards.   
Chris and I were stopped briefly at the gate before being greeted by Inda, who had obviously been waiting for our arrival. She skipped up in what I would describe as a carefree manner, which surprised me, she was supposed to be prosecuting Sean today. In the back of my heard I could feel a perpetual annoying argument with both sides telling me different things. One told me I shouldn’t like Inda due to her being against my close friend, and the other said that Inda had helped me and gained my trust just like Sean did. I kept it in the back of my mind though, not wanting it to seep onto my face.  
“Hey Inda.” I said, still standing slightly behind Chris. She smiled and greeted us with a nod before gesturing for us to follow her. She was wearing the exact same clothes as she had been wearing when we last saw her, just with another pin on her collar.   
“Hey Inda, we saw you at the church yesterday, are you a Christian or something?” Inda seemed to freeze at my question, stiffening up. I heard a light sigh and she turned to face Chris and I.  
“Well, the short answer is yes, I suppose. I am a Christian.” she said. There was something strange in her eyes and tone- I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. I glanced at Chris with a raised brow.  
“Is everything okay, Inda?” he asked, “There’s no need to get defensive.”   
Inda bit her lip.  
“No, no I’m fine..” she hedged, shifting her weight from foot to foot.   
“Are you sure?” Chris asked, a note of concern in his voice.  
“Yes!” Inda said, in a tone close to snapping. Chris straightened, his eyebrows rising in surprise. I felt surprised too- Inda was normally rather mild. We must have accidentally touched on a sore spot. I laid my hand on Chris’s arm, non-verbally telling him to stop talking.   
“It’s okay, Inda. It’s just us.” I said in a soothing tone. I noticed, belatedly, that her hands were clenched into trembling fists. They relaxed after a few seconds, and she nodded, looking down. “Yeah, I know.” she said quietly, “It’s just.. Things here are so different, you know? It’s like, when the game was made, the developers forgot morals. Or left them out on purpose, maybe. It’s hard to do right here.” she looked away from both of us, memories flitting across her face like withered leaves in a swift wind.  
“Well, what do you mean? What kind of things make you think that morals don’t exist here?”  
“Well, for one, we’re allowed to just go around killing people. We’re all handed this power and basically given new laws. Number Two, please don’t take offense to this, but you guys can get married.” Chris’ plain expression instantly turned to a scowl. I stepped in front of him to make sure that he didn’t lunge at her. Chris was very defensive about our relationship, when a few people insulted us in a town a few floors back he nearly went berserk.  
“We really appreciate that Inda, could we go ahead to the courtroom now?” Inda seemed hesitant, glancing back at Chris before nodding and turning to lead us farther into the stronghold. We entered the main building, which had a very plain interior besides the white marble floor that made our footfalls echo off of the wooden walls and the plain wooden ceiling. When we reached the courtroom I noticed Sean sitting alone in a singular chair, with no one near him. Rows of benches sat behind him, and two rows of chairs marked the jurors box. In front of Sean was the judge, and directly across from the judge was a witness stand. To the right of that was the prosecutor’s table. I noticed that the members of Inda’s squad were sitting there. Chris and I took a seat on one of the wooden benches, and I looked around. The building was almost overwhelmingly simple, the walls and ceiling were wooden, and so was the floor. It gave off an air that spoke of no individualism, and was reflected by the uniforms of the Knights. In fact, the only thing that set Inda apart from the other female knights who were walking around was her hair and the colors braided into it. That, along with her accolades.   
“Damien, do you find it odd that there’s no one defending Sean?”  
“As a matter of fact I do, I’m wondering how this is going to go.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest in akin to Chris’ usual stance. Chris smirked at this.  
“Geez Damien, you’re acting more and more like me everyday. I’m not sure if I should be happy about that, or worried.” Chris said with a laugh and I shushed him, the trial was starting.   
The judge sat down on his bench. He was an older man, probably one of the oldest player in SAO. He looked to be in his late fifties, at least. A small white beard covered his face, making up for the lack of hair on his head.   
“Welcome to the sentencing hearing for this member of the Laughing Coffins, Sean Finnegan.” Chris and I both raised a brow and glanced at each other.  
“Did we miss the trial?” Chris asked in a shushed tone and I shook my head.  
“No, there’s no way, I mean, we would’ve known.” I responded. The judge looked over at Sean.  
“Sean of the Laughing Coffins, do you wish to plead guilty to your crimes and take your punishment, or do you wish to plead not guilty and face a harsher punishment when proven to be lying.” Sean laughed, his slender shoulders shaking along with his red hair, which bobbed slightly in time with his laugher.  
“Well, I guess that depends on what the punishments are.” Sean responded, placing his hands on the table in front of him, taking a stance very similar to that of Phoenix Wright, an attorney from a game that Sean played.  
“The punishment for being a member of the Laughing Coffins, and committing multiple murders, is death by hanging. We will let you live though, if you give us the names of every member of the Laughing Coffins that you know.”   
“I’m sensing there’s another thing I have to do? I mean, you guys wouldn’t just let a guy like me go free just like that. What’s the catch.” The judge smirked.   
“Well, say what you want about you assassins, but you’re intelligent. Yes, the other requisite is that you join the Knights of the Blood Oath.” Sean took a deep breath, bit his tongue and stared off into space for a minute, tapping his fingers against the desk.   
“Well, sounds like I really don’t have any choice. I guess I’ll join you guys, when do I get the fancy duds?” The judge rolled his eyes.  
“Gentlemen, escort the new recruit back to his cell. Make sure he is ready to take the oath in two hours.” The men in Inda’s squad nodded before walking over and grabbing Sean by the shoulders, pulling him out of the courtroom. Chris and I walked up to Inda, Chris seemed slightly more irritated than I was.  
“What was that?” he demanded and Inda raised a brow.  
“What do you mean?” she asked, obviously befuddled by Chris’ tone.  
“You know what I mean, you didn’t give that man a trial, you basically told him to either join you or die.” Inda shrugged.  
“Hey, at least we’re letting him live. He’s killed more than a dozen players Chris, don’t you think he should die?”  
“I don’t think anyone should be given only that choice basically. I guarantee you’ll end up finding a way to kill him anyway. I can’t believe you can call yourself a Christian and follow this disgusting place.” Chris spat at her feet before turning and stalking out of the room. I turned to Inda, who looked stunned.  
“I’m sorry” I said before running after Chris. When I caught up to him he was still fuming. I put my hands on his chest and he stopped walking, instead standing straight up, shaking with violent rage.   
“I can’t believe they call that justice. It’s despicable. You can’t approve of that, can you Damien?” I shook my head and Chris simply nodded in response.  
“Look, we should get home. I don’t want to be in this place any longer than I have to…I’d rather resist the urge to end some of their horrible lives myself.” Chris said before starting to walk again. I followed after him, concerned about his anger.   
Chapter 9  
Sean  
“Hey, no need to be so rough.” I protested as the three knights who had been restraining me threw me into my cell. “Not like I was resisting, jerks.” I muttered, dusting my clothes off. I was still wearing the cloaks of a Laughing Coffin member, though the knights had stripped me of all my weapons and gadgets when they’d imprisoned me.  
“You’d think they would give their new recruit a nicer place to say.” I muttered, looking around at the cell I had spent the last few days in. Unlike the rest of the building the dungeon had an archaic feel to it, stone that seemed older than the rest of the building made up the walls, and all that was in my cell was a small raised stone area for me to sleep. There was nowhere to go about doing my business, which was left for prisoners to decide how to deal with I suppose. The whole place reeked, partly due to the sewage situation and the other part being rotting food that was left in the dungeons of some of the worst criminals. So far I had avoided getting food that was too terrible, there was the moldy piece of bread here and there, but it wasn’t as bad as some things I’d seen, when the food seemed to be halfway decayed when they were carrying it to a cell.  
On top of the smell the dungeon was deathly quiet, we were all told if we spoke to each other we would be tortured, beaten, then put into a solitary cell. I had seen the aforementioned cells when I had first entered the dungeon. They couldn’t be more than four feet tall, and maybe three feet wide. It was literally just enough space for a person to sit in. You couldn’t move, couldn’t stand, and couldn’t lie down. It was…barbaric, for lack of a better word. I was disgusted by the whole ordeal, even when we, the assassins, captured someone we wanted to get information from we didn’t treat them this badly. Compared to the way the Knights treated their prisoners we had treated ours like kings.  
I walked over to my stone shelf and sat down, running my fingers through my hair, which had grown wild. I hadn’t been able to look in a mirror but I could feel it, some places jutting out in odd directions. I wondered if it was still as red as it had once been, nearly as red as the blood of the people I had murdered.   
“Recruit.” Someone greeted me formally and I looked over to see her standing there, the girl who had captured me in the Castle of Snakes, and had bought me here. I stood, leaning against the wall with one hand on my hip, the other hanging loosely by my side.  
“What do you want? Haven’t I given you enough satisfaction for today?” the girl looked taken aback by this, shaking her head with a confused look.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well, I’m going to join your stupid order, you’ll probably be commanding me around for the remainder of my life, shouldn’t you be satisfied already?”  
“I don’t make the rules, and, frankly, I didn’t ask for you to join our guild. That was your own choice. Just like it was your choice to join the Laughing Coffins.” I shook my head slowly, which prompted her to raise a questioning brow.  
“You don’t know what it’s like to be part of the Laughing Coffins. Yeah, I joined them, but I sure didn’t do it willingly. For one, they made me take their oath after they captured me in battle. Two, they told me if I didn’t carry out my contracts they would kill me themselves. Now, you ask yourself, if you were given the choice of yourself or others, who would you try to defend?” Before the girl could respond I cut her off. “Don’t answer, you wear those accolades on your arm, one of them is for leading a regiment in battle. You’ve killed, just like I have. I don’t feel good about it, and I’m sure you don’t feel good about it. But think about it, if you were facing down the person you killed again, if their sword was poised to strike you, would you let it?” The girl seemed to be stunned by my entire argument. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hung open slightly. I took a deep breath and looked down. “You’re always right, aren’t you? You righteous knights, but when someone does the exact same thing for a slightly different reason, bring on the noose.” I looked up and met Inda’s eyes “Just give me your stupid oath or contract or whatever and I’ll follow you. Just know that you will never, ever have my respect.” I finished my rant and looked back down at the floor, examining the cracks in the floor.   
“I know what I’ve done is wrong, Sean.” I heard her voice soften and when I looked over the girl, Inda, had tears on the edges of her eyes. “Look, I did what I had to do in order to survive, it’s true. The only difference is that I regret it. I wish that I could go back and change it so that I never killed anybody. It eats at me every day and I can’t do anything about it. I have to live with seeing the faces of the people that I’ve killed every night. I don’t do this for the glory, or to seem righteous, I just want to survive. I want to go home and be with my family again, I want to live a normal life somehow.” I saw the tears start to flow down her cheeks and I instantly felt ashamed of what I had said.   
“Look, I didn’t mean it that way…I know you aren’t like the rest of them….it just…I was asleep for three months and the minute I come out I’m arrested and bought here, thrown in another prison, you have to understand how frustrating that is.” Inda sighed.   
“I know, but I’m going to take you so you can take your oath. You won’t be in a prison anymore. You will be under watch in the barracks but at least that’ll be nicer than this place.” She said and I nodded, standing up. Inda wiped her tears away before opening the cell door and letting me out. She led me out of the dungeon and back up into the main stronghold. There were knights all over the place, there seemed to be more than usual. I walked past rows of them, all brandishing halberds and swords, and glaring at me. I had the feeling that even when I was one of their brothers I wouldn’t be very welcome.   
Inda led me to the end of a long hallway that resembled the rest of the building, plain and wooden and opened the door. The door itself seemed extravagant. The main component of it seemed to be silver; gold was inlaid into the door itself with intricate patterns. When Inda opened the door it revealed a large chamber, made of a more quality stone than the dungeon. I would say it were marble if it weren’t a grey hue, but it was definitely beautiful. Sunlight streamed in through the top of the chamber, where there was a hole allowing the sunlight in. There wasn’t any furniture in the chamber, just a small basin on a pedestal that stood in the center of the room, right where the sunlight hit. Standing beside the basin was the man that I recognized as the leader of the Knights, Sir Heathcliff. He was an old man in SAO terms. He was easily in his forties and wore blood red armor. On his back there was a large shield, and on his hip hung his sword. I had heard legends about Heathcliff’s speed in battle. He was said to be untouchable by any player.   
The leader of the knights smiled at me as Inda led me up to the pedestal.   
“Welcome Sean, I’ve heard a lot about you. You were one of the Laughing Coffins’ best agents, were you not?” I nodded, not making eye contact with the man, though I could feel his grey eyes boring into me. I could tell he hated me even though he was smiling.   
“Now, you’re going to make your oath. As you could tell by our name it’s going to be accompanied by the spilling of your blood. Most knights make their vow by making a small slit in their hand, but due to the….severity of your crimes, your payment will be more. Extend your hand.” I narrowed my eyes, but did as Heathcliff commanded. I knew the alternative to obeying the man’s orders was death, and that task would most likely fall on Inda, who was standing directly behind me now. Heathcliff drew a dagger that seemed like it would be used in rituals but not in combat. It was intricate in design, but didn’t seem to have any functionality when it came to movement or speed in combat. Heathcliff pressed the blade to the first knuckle of my left ring finger and, before I had time to react, sliced the digit clean off. Adrenaline instantly flooded my veins, blocking out the pain that I knew I should be feeling. Part of me wanted to be angry at Inda. She had obviously known what was coming, maybe not in this severity but certainly something. However, all of my anger was instead directed at my assailant, Heathcliff himself. Rage against him burned like fire in my veins, dulled by the shock. Blood spilled from the wound and into the basin, lining the bottom of it almost instantly. Heathcliff then produced a quill, extending it to me. As the pain started to become more apparent I took the quill in my right hand and dipped it in the blood. Heathcliff then directed me to the walls, where I could now see that other names were written in blood. I walked over, becoming lightheaded as blood continued to drip around my feet. I signed my name on the wall and dropped the quill. This whole time I hadn’t realized that Inda had left, leaving the door open as she had. She returned shortly though with one of the knights who was gifted in medicine. In one hand the knight held a torch in the other he head a small piece of metal and bandages. I didn’t question him as he put the metal in the fire, holding it there until it grew red hot, but I did when he moved it toward the space where my finger had used to be.   
“What are you doing!?” I exclaimed, moving my hand away from him. The man gave me a stern look before answering.  
“If that wound is cauterized you are going to bleed to death. Give me your hand, this will hurt but it won’t be as bad as death.” I hesitated, looking at Inda. She had a worried look in her eyes, a look that begged me to do it. With reluctance I extended my hand to the knight, looking away as I did.   
The pain was unbelievable. I had never felt anything like it before when that red-hot piece of iron touched the area where my finger had been. Pain shot up my arm as the nerves and veins were sealed off from the burning. I let out a scream and when the piece of iron was removed I wretched, nearly vomiting as I felt bile rush up my throat. I managed to remain conscious, just barely, as the doctor wrapped a bandage around my burnt stump.   
When the knight was finished patching me up he sent in two others to get me out of the chamber and to the barracks. They both wore helmets so I couldn’t see their faces, and wore heavy armor that made them seem bigger than I imagine they actually were. I was carried out of the chamber and into the hall, hanging between the two men. I lost consciousness when we entered the barracks.   
Chapter 10  
I examined myself in the full length mirror that was in my room in the barracks. My armor gleamed white from the sun that streamed through the window. The blood red that extended down the arms and around the neck guard matched my hair almost perfectly. I didn’t feel comfortable in this armor though; my cloak had been so much lighter and allowed me to move freely. This armor restricted my movement, I could barely move my arms all the way up, and it weighed down heavily upon me. The Knights had taken away the dagger I’d used as an assassin and had instead given me a broadsword. It was better than my dagger had been, but I didn’t like how bulky it was, or that I couldn’t easily conceal it from anyone. At the moment it was hanging on my waist, nearly touching my ankle. I flexed my fingers, still getting adjusted to the fact that I was permanently missing a piece of my body. It was a good thing that I used my sword in my right hand, or the missing ring finger would have crippled my ability to fight. I imagine Heathcliff would have enjoyed it more if he had made it so I would be killed in my first battle alongside Inda, but I guess the man had some shred of humanity in him.   
I was snapped from my trance when someone knocked on my door. I turned just as Inda opened the door, smiling when she saw me.   
“How are you feeling today, Sean? Have the past few days been alright? How’s your finger healing?” she asked quickly. Part of me was annoyed that she seemed to ignore the fact that her-no- our commander, had severed my finger himself. I ran the fingers of my right hand through my newly trimmed hair and scratched the back of my head.  
“Well, I feel better today, besides being weighed down by this ridiculous armor. The past few days have been about the same, I feel a bit better every day about all this crap, and my finger is alright. I think it may start to regrow.” I said the last sentence with a hint of sarcasm, which hurt Inda. I could tell when a small flash of hurt flashed across her features. That didn’t make me feel good, it really didn’t, I was just done with dealing with these knights and all of their crap. Inda wasn’t bad compared to the rest of them, but I didn’t care, she was still one of them..and so was I.  
“Look, we need to get on patrol Sean. We’re going to go around town and make sure no one is messing around or trying to harm other players. It’s just you and I though today, let’s go.” I sighed but nodded. Inda turned and walked out of my door, I followed and closed the door behind the both of us. As we walked toward the exit of the stronghold that was now my home I noticed that most of the other knights were gone. In fact, all of Heathcliff’s personal guards who were always milling around were gone.   
“Where is everyone?” I asked, glancing around, not even hearing the normal sounds of sparring in the training area.  
“They’re scouting the eleventh floor dungeon, along with Damien and Chris. You know them, don’t you?” I nodded in response. I knew Chris and Damien, they had both gone to my school. Chris was a jerk though, when he was around the popular crowd he didn’t pay any mind to the people below him. This annoyed me to no ends. He thought that he was above all of us just because he had a few more friends. Damien had been a good guy though. We had hung out all the time, played games together when he wasn’t at basketball practice. I felt betrayed by the fact that he had apparently started hanging around with Chris.   
“How did you meet Chris and Damien?” I asked Inda and she smiled lightly.   
“Well, Damien and I met on the road going toward the first floor dungeon. We ended up talking outside of the dungeon, next to the door, and that’s when Chris showed up. Damien and he had been hanging out for the past day or so. I didn’t run into them again until Floor Ten. By that time Chris and Damien were an item, and I had joined the Knights of the Blood Oath. Until floor three I was tagging along with two people named Blake and Amelia. I still talk to Amelia, actually.” I was stunned by what she had said about Chris and Damien being together. Damien had really crossed the line. Back at school he had told me he hated Chris, and now he was with him? I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Damien and knock some sense into him.   
“Well, where are Blake and Amelia now?” I asked, recognizing those names as well, though I couldn’t match them to faces.   
“They’re actually in the town, a few blocks away. I was going to talk to Amelia, if you’d like to come that way too.” I nodded.  
“Sure, sounds like a good time.” I said with a smirk, following Inda out of the gates of the HQ. The town seemed busier than usual, probably because a lot of the knights weren’t out on patrol as they seemed to be usually. People seemed to move out of Inda and I’s path, intentionally avoiding us as much as they could. I couldn’t hear a sound when we passed people, as though they thought any noise they made could provoke us. I could sense fear in the air around us, it was almost palpable. Underneath this fear I could sense rage as well.   
“Inda, do you think it’s the best idea to be walking around with only two of us? I mean, these people don’t seem very happy to see us.” Inda glanced back at me, and then around at the people who were indeed glaring at us.  
“Don’t worry, I’m well off enough when it comes to combat that I can hold them back if they attack us. You’re big too, and I’m sure you’re strong….even if you can’t exactly wield your sword with two hands at the moment.” I frowned at her added comment, hoping that she meant it as a joke.   
When we got out of the main area of the town and made it to a small boarding house Inda walked up to one of the doors and knocked on the door. A woman who was maybe Inda’s age opened the door. Her black hair was cut into a pixie cut, and her eyes shone a vivid emerald green, almost a catlike brightness to them.   
“Hey Amelia.” Inda said with a smile and Amelia returned her smile, holding her arms out for a hug. Inda stepped forward and embraced the slightly smaller woman. “How’s everything been?” Inda asked and the woman, Amelia, frowned slightly, and bit her lip.   
“Well, I need to talk to you. You actually picked a perfect time to come around, Blake went to scout out Floor Eleven with some of your knights.” Amelia opened the door wide enough for Inda and I to come in before shutting and locking it behind us. Now that I was closer to Amelia I noticed that there were bruises on her arms, all in the shape of fingers, like someone had grabbed Amelia by the arms. I scowled at this.  
“Amelia? Has someone been hurting you?” I demanded, I hated it when people physically abused women, it disgusted me. Amelia looked down and pulled the sleeves of the sweater she was wearing down over her arms, covering the bruises.  
“No…” she said very unbelievably. Inda mirrored my frown but softened her expression, gently putting her hand on Amelia’s shoulder.  
“Amelia, it’s just us here, please, if Blake or someone else is hurting you, tell us.” Amelia looked away and I saw tears well up in her eyes before she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, seemingly trying to stop the tears from coming. The small apartment we were in suddenly became almost silent besides the sounds of Amelia crying. Amelia leant into Inda, who wrapped her arms around Amelia, trying to comfort her.  
“He was so charming when we first met. He treated me well, all until we got married. He knew there was no way out of it after we got married, there’s no divorces or annulments in SAO. He started hitting me, throwing me around. I don’t know what happened to him….he was never like this. It hurts me so bad, not only to be treated this way, but to be hurt by someone that I still love.” Amelia said through sobs, burying her face into Inda’s shoulder.  
“Well Amelia, if he’s hurting you, then you can just leave. Come with us, we’ll keep you safe.” I said, concern filling my tone. I honestly wanted this woman safe, it was obvious that she had already gone through too much for her frail mentality.  
“I would…but I can’t, not now.” Amelia said quietly and I raised a brow.  
“What do you mean, ‘not now’?” I asked and as though I had summoned her a little girl walked out from behind one of the walls that separated the front room from the others, rubbing her icy blue eyes. From the single picture of Blake that was on one of the tables I recognized the eyes as his, and the charcoal shade of the girl’s hair was the same as Amelia’s. In fact, she looked exactly like a younger version of Amelia with Blake’s eyes.   
“Momma, who are these people?” the little girl questioned in a quiet, frail sounding voice. “and where’s Daddy?” Amelia looked back, walking over to the little girl and picking her up.  
“Aria, this is my friend Inda. She’s a member of the Knights who keep the town safe.” The little girl seemed fascinated by Inda, but shrank into her mother’s embrace at the sight of me.  
“Who’re you?” she asked, fear creeping into her voice. I offered the little girl a gentle smile and leant down slightly, bringing myself to eye level with her.  
“My name is Sean, I’m one of Inda’s knights. It’s very nice to meet you Aria.” I said and the little girl smiled slightly at me before looking up at Amelia once more.  
“and where’s Daddy?” she repeated and Amelia gently brushed some of the little girl’s hair away from her face.   
“Daddy is on the front lines today. He’ll be back later tonight.” She whispered before placing a gentle kiss on the little girl’s forehead.   
“Head back to bed, I’ll be in to play with you in a few minutes.” Aria nodded before running off back to the room that she had come from. When the little girl had shut the door behind her Inda turned to Amelia.  
“How in the world did that happen?” she sounded amazed, a look reflecting the same on her face.  
“Aria? It’s an in-game mechanic. You can ask for a child and the game will spawn him or her in. Aria was “born” three days ago, a little while after we got to the town of beginnings. She’s basically the only reason I’m staying, and Blake knows that. That’s why he approved having a child. I love Aria, she makes me happy, but at the same time she’s tethering me to Blake. I don’t know how much longer I can go on.” She said and I was suddenly alerted when the door opened.  
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I heard from behind me.   
Chapter Eleven  
“You can’t keep fighting like you did in the dungeon Chris, you’re getting reckless. And you can’t get reckless in this world, that’ll get you killed.” I muttered, my head on Chris’ chest. We seemed to find each other in almost this exact position every night since we’d bought our home on Floor Eleven. Chris would have an arm resting on my back, my head on his chest and each of us had a leg around the other’s under the blanket on our bed. I felt safe in this position. I felt like I could just bury my face in Chris’ neck and not have to face what awaited us on the next floor, in the next dungeon.   
“What do you mean? I’m not getting reckless, besides, I’m getting stronger every day. Nothing is going to bring me down.” I looked up at Chris and moved one of my hands up to touch his cheek, getting his attention. Chris looked down and met my eyes. When I was sure that I had his attention I whispered.  
“I am terrified of losing you. Chris, if you die I will have nothing left. I will not be able to go on. I won’t let you do something stupid and get yourself killed.” I felt tears well up in my eyes as my heart beat heavily, the thought of losing Chris too much for me to bear. “I love you.” I whispered as the tears spilled over. I tried to hide them, putting my head into Chris’ neck once more, but he lifted my chin and pressed his lips to mine forcefully. I was surprised by this, but I soon melted into Chris’ kiss. He put his arms around me once more and pulled me tight against him before leaning down and whispering in my ear.  
“I am not going to die. You are not going to lose me. I know that you promised to get me to the end of this. I promise to be there with you, so when we get out of this game we can live our lives together. No one will know our pain like we do. I swear, I will always be with you Damien. Until the stars fall.” With that, the tears I had been shedding melted away and I put my head against Chris’ chest, my heart overwhelmed with love. It felt like nothing existed outside of Chris and I right now. It was these kinds of moments that I lived for. It made everything alright. When Chris and I beat a boss and I looked into his eyes, when I saw the happiness in his eyes, when I saw how happy he was to be one step closer to the end, it made me happy too. Chris, he was who made me happy.   
I was drawn from our moment by a knock at our door. I groaned, pressing my face further into Chris’ chest.  
“I need to go see who’s at the door Damien.” Chris said with a light laugh when he realized I wasn’t budging. Chris picked me up easily, displaying his strength. “Show off.” I muttered when Chris held me in his arms before setting me down on the bed. He put a pair of pants and the purple shirt he’d had since the first day of SAO.  
“I’ll let you know if it’s anything important.” Chris said, leaning down to kiss my head. He then smiled and walked downstairs. I could see him going through the house, down the oak staircase with the white wall going on one side of it, the other side framed by a bannister. Our downstairs was simple, three rooms. There was a living room which had a few chairs around a small table. Directly through the door in the back of the living room was our kitchen. There was a counter, an oven, and a small fireplace. This was the only room in the house that had a stone floor due to the high amount of flame in it. Through there, which also connected to the front door by a hallway that went by the stairs, was our dining room. It had a long table, big enough to sit six people. Chris and I didn’t usually have anyone around though, so we ate in our bedroom most of the time when we were at home. Our second floor had our bedroom, obviously. We had a queen bed with a purple blanket that Chris had bought at the market. A window overlooked the plaza in Taft, and a door connected our room to an adjoining bathroom. In there was a shower. I often question why there were showers when the rest of SAO was so simple, but at the time I didn’t really care. I enjoyed being able to soothe my aching body in the hot water when I was at home. Down the hall was a spare bedroom, which was currently unoccupied. It had a twin bed and a small desk, not much other furniture to speak of. Next to that was a bathroom that was used by all of our guests.   
Chris came back upstairs a few minutes later, opening our inventory and getting clothes out before throwing them to me. When I gave him a confused look he smiled.  
“Inda’s downstairs, she wanted to talk to you.” I nodded and put the clothes on before walking downstairs bare foot behind Chris. When we got downstairs Chris walked into the living room `ahead of me. I saw Inda sitting down on one of the chairs in our living room.   
“Hey Inda.” I said, sitting down in one of the other chairs. Chris gave me a questioning look, as we usually sat in our two person chair together. However, when I cast a sidelong glance at Inda Chris seemed to understand, and sat down in the chair alone. Inda smiled. She wasn’t wearing her usual armor at this point. She was instead wearing clothes similar to the starting outfit, but was instead wearing a deep royal blue shirt. Her hair was still braided, and the colors of her guild were still braided into her hair.   
“How’ve you guys been doing? I heard you guys did well in Floor Twelve’s dungeon.” I nodded in response.  
“Yeah, it was an interesting time. We just got home a couple hours ago actually.” Inda nodded in response. She hadn’t been on the assault team in the dungeon, she tended to hang back with her patrols lately. I had learned through messages with Inda that Sean had been a major part of her patrols. He had even volunteered to go on some missions he wasn’t required to go on. He seemed to be doing well in the Knights of the Blood Oath, despite losing his left ring finger in his initiation. Through messages I had also learned about Blake’s domestic abuse, and Amelia’s child.  
“How are Amelia and Aria doing?” I asked and Inda sighed, shaking her head slightly, as though she were disappointed in the fact that we had to be worried about them.  
“Well, Amelia is starting to do better, she’s slowly finding ways to avoid Blake when he gets abusive, but Aria still looks to Blake like he’s the perfect father, and he even treats Aria like he actually cares about her. I know he doesn’t though, he’s told Amelia terrible things when he’s abused her about Aria. How he doesn’t care at all about the child, how he wouldn’t care if she died.” Chris scowled.  
“Disgusting, self-centered bastard.” He commented. He certainly didn’t approve of Amelia, he didn’t hold her in bad regard, but he was certainly adverse to her. The only person he really hated was Blake. He thought almost everything Blake did was terrible, and disgusting, which most of the time it was. Inda frowned at Chris’ language, being how she was she didn’t like us using certain words around her. While we usually tried to refrain from using these words when it came to Blake there was an exception.  
“Well, is there anything new with Sean? How’s his finger healing?” I asked as I leant back in the chair I was sitting in. Inda smiled, most likely very glad that I had changed the subject before either Chris or her had the chance to bet set off about Blake and the way he treated Amelia.  
“He’s doing really well, from what he’s shown me his injury is healing quite well. He’s getting to the point where he can easily two hand his blade again.” Inda looked like she wanted to continue, but stopped, a nervous look crossing her face.  
“Is something wrong with him?” I asked, reading her expression and she shook her head before sighing lightly, almost dreamily.  
“No, nothing’s wrong with him. It’s just, I think that he’s been trying to hit on me for the last couple days.” She said, which prompted a laugh from Chris.  
“Jeez, he’s been with you guys for a week now and he’s hitting on you? He’s really odd with his views on people I guess?” Inda raised a brow, as though she were questioning if Chris were insulting her or not. “I didn’t mean that as an offense toward you Inda, I’m just saying if some guild or clan cut off my finger I wouldn’t exactly be looking to check any of them out for a long while.” Chris explained and Inda nodded in understanding.  
“He’s a nice guy,” she said, though she sounded unsure of herself. “I just don’t trust him yet. He was an assassin, they’re meant to be crafty. Maybe after I start to trust him… I don’t know” she said, shaking her head as though to clear it from the thoughts that she was having.   
“Well, once you figure it out bring Sean over, I’m sure we could all enjoy an evening together, even if you two aren’t together that way. We could all just have a good time together, right?” I asked and Inda nodded with a smile.  
“Good idea, Damien, I’ll make sure to do that the next time we both have some time off. Speaking of which, it looks like I should be going, I’ll see you guys later.” She said before getting up. I walked her to the door and watched her go before turning back to Chris, who I discovered was leaning against the doorway with a thoughtful expression on his face.  
“A penny for your thoughts?” I asked with a smile and Chris rolled his eyes.  
“I don’t like this whole thing. They cut off Sean’s finger but he’s loyal to that guild all because of a crush. It seems like it isn’t going to end well, for anyone.” I shrugged.  
“Well, we don’t know that, do we?” I asked and Chris sighed, glancing down at the floor.  
“No, but-“  
“But nothing, don’t worry about it. Look, we should get some sleep; we’re heading out to Floor Twelve tomorrow. Come on.” I said before walked back upstairs with Chris, blowing out the lanterns that illuminated the bottom floor before we did.   
Chapter 12  
Floor Eighteen reminded me of some kind of ancient Japanese fantasy world. Towering buildings with great slanting roofs dominated the lands, resembling Shinto temples and the homes of Shoguns. Cherry blossom trees sprouted up everywhere, their petals littering the ground in some places. A river ran through the middle of the floor, under a bridge which was guarded by a samurai wearing pitch black armor. Chris and I stood in front of him, staring him down. The only sound in the air was water as it went under the bridge, and occasionally the sound of the breeze shifting the branches of the trees.  
“So, who’s going to fight him?” I asked, glancing at Chris. Chris gave me a thoughtful look, slightly amused that I was asking the question as though I was implying that this was some kind of formal duel between a pair of rivals.   
“Personally, I think you resemble this guy’s kind more than I do.” Chris said, nodding to the katana on my waist, and the black armor that clung close to my body. It was a simple black metal, and matched the onyx ring on my finger in color. I didn’t wear a cloak anymore, content to just have the armor. Chris still retained his greatsword, but instead of the armor that had resembled the Knights of the Blood Oath, an organization Chris was heavily opposed to, he now where a deep blue set of armor that reminded me of the depths of the ocean. It shone and seemed to perfectly compliment his blonde hair, which shone slightly in the setting sun as it danced over the horizon.  
“How about you let me fight him.” A new voice called and I turned to see Sean walked beside Inda, both of them beaming at Chris and I.  
“When did you get here?” I asked Sean, brow raised in confusion. I noticed Chris had a hand on the hilt of his sword. He didn’t exactly have a problem with Inda or Sean, but ever since we had been ambushed on Floor Fifteen by a group of knights he had been very untrusting of any of them.  
“I think we’ve got it,” Chris commented, a hint of venom in his voice, “how about you both go back to playing heroes in the Town of Beginnings.” Sean looked deeply offended by Chris’ comment, while Inda seemed to ignore it, having been on the receiving end of some of Chris’ comments about the Knights already.   
“Hey man, I’m just trying to help.” Sean said, running his fingers through his hair absent mindedly. Inda glanced sidelong at him, a slight smile on her face.  
“Don’t mind him, Sean. Are you going to fight the samurai or would you like Sean to Damien? He’s been anxious to fight something ever since we got here, and we’ve been running into your leftovers.” Inda accompanied her statement with a laugh. This whole time that we had been conversing the samurai had stood on the bridge, tip of his blade against the wood, he seemed to be staring at us, observing but not moving to strike.  
“I’ll let Sean take care of him.” I said, stepping aside, directly into Chris’ outstretched arm as Sean walked forward onto the bridge, drawing the two handed broadsword that he’d possessed since he’d entered the Knights. I felt Chris’ hand on my side as Sean approached the Samurai, a cocky grin on his face and a swagger to his walk that spoke of confidence. The black-clad warrior suddenly rushed at Sean though, shattering the peaceful quiet of the countryside with the sound of steel clashing, Sean holding the man’s sword back, away from himself as the samurai seemed to attempt to push his sword directly through Sean’s own.  
“Sean’s gotten stronger.” I commented, quite impressed by Sean’s display of strength, he was the same level as the warrior, though he held his blade back like he were over a dozen levels higher than him.  
“He’s been improving greatly ever since we’ve been training together.” Inda commented, a proud smile on her face accompanying her arms being crossed over her chest.  
“That the only thing you two are doing together?” I questioned curiously and Inda cast me a mortified look.  
“Damien if you are implying what I think you are then-“  
“I’m not, I’m just asking if you two are a thing.” I stated in a matter-of-fact manner as the sound of clashing steel lingered in the air as Sean continued his assault on the samurai.   
“Well, frankly, I don’t see how that concerns you.” Inda commented, a blush rising to her cheeks that spoke worlds more than any words could.  
“It doesn’t concern me, I just like to know. I mean, Chris and I didn’t hide anything about our relationship from you.” I commented, holding my finger up to display the onyx ring that encircled my finger, my wedding ring. The very thought of that still made me grin.   
“Well, no, you didn’t. You know how I feel about that though.” She insisted, before looking up at Sean as he dealt the finishing blow to the samurai, sending the black clad warrior sprawling on the bridge before disappearing in a cloud of data. Sean sheathed his sword with a satisfied smirk and turned, walking back over to our small group.   
“How’d I do?” Sean asked, putting a hand on Inda’s arm, which made her cast a slight glare at him. Sean smiled nervously, removing his hand and muttering.  
“Heh, sorry” he said and looked up at us, gesturing toward the bridge.  
“Well, the bridge is open your highnesses, if you would like to proceed in front of us.” Chris rolled his eyes before taking my hand in his and leading me across the bridge in a huff, leaving me with only a slight wave and a few words to say goodbye to Inda for the moment. The last thing I remember about the evening was the grin that Sean was shooting me, obviously content with his victory.   
Chapter 13  
Floor Twenty Six was a pleasant floor. Chris and I had found solace sitting on one of the many balconies in the town which overlooked the sprawling landscape that stretched out in every direction around us. Bright clusters of wildflowers dotted the light green field, and sparse trees provided some shade from the sun that was shining down heavily upon the land. Chris and I were wearing simple clothes, identical to the ones we had been wearing when we first came in to SAO. There were glasses of water in front of each of us on the marble table that separated us. I sat back in the high back wooden chair and gazed out over the landscape while Chris sat in his chair, tinkering with his ring.   
“It’s a beautiful day.” I commented and smiled over at Chris, who returned the smile in kind.  
“Yeah, it’s really not that bad. Makes you forget about everything” I noticed that Chris seemed…..exhausted. There were dark bags under his eyes. I had noticed that he’d seemed weary over the last few days but he had assured me everything was fine. I had believed him up until this point. I knew Chris didn’t say anything unless it was significant, if he mentioned forgetting things it meant that he was trying desperately to forget.  
“Chris, talk to me.” I said, tempted to reach across the table to him, instead keeping my hands on the rests of my chair. Chris sighed, leaning forward and placing his head in his hands, his blonde hair pooled around the backs of his hands before he looked over at me, tears welling up in his vivid eyes.  
“I can’t take this anymore Damien.” Chris said and I stood up, swiftly making my way over to him but he suddenly got up, rushing to the rail and gripping it tightly. Recognizing the danger of this situation, I kept my distance.   
“Chris…step away from the railing” I whispered and he looked back at me as the tears started to flow.   
“What do I have to live for!? Why do I need to go on!? Do you realize how far we are!? We’re on Floor Twenty Six!” Chris yelled the last two words as though to emphasize just how far we were from completing the game. In all truthfulness I’d started to get concerned about our pace as well, but I hadn’t realized how badly it’d been affecting Chris.  
“Just because it’s taking a while doesn’t mean we won’t make it there.” I reasoned, my heart pounding quickly in my chest, watching for any sudden movement Chris would make. My mind was filled with terror at the thought that he would throw himself over the railing at any moment, leaving me alone in this bleak and desolate world, made even more so without him.   
“And what if we don’t make it there! What if you die before we get there!? You know that I’m not strong enough to go along without you, let alone with how I would be shattered!” I suddenly burst out as tears filled my vision. Sorrow flooded me as I had the thought of Chris’ actions.   
“Do you think I wouldn’t be shattered if you do what you’re about to do!? Please Chris, think, if you do this now then I don’t know what I’ll do.” Chris looked down at the ground which sprawled out beneath him, the sunlight radiating across his golden hair. He stifled a sob, took a deep breath, and let go of the railing. In terror I walked forward just in time for Chris to sink under my arms as I would’ve grabbed him. Tears of joy burst forth when I realized Chris had just sat down. I gripped the railing as the tears fell, some of them splashing onto Chris.   
“Damien” I heard the taller man’s voice from beneath me. I looked down to find that Chris was looking up at me.  
“I’m so sorry” he whispered, tears still streaming down his cheeks. I should have been angry, should have been outraged that he would have ever thought of doing something so unbelievably stupid, but instead I was relieved. I sank down next to Chris and looked at him, at his eyes which were now bloodshot and puffy.  
“You don’t need to be sorry….I can completely understand why you would feel this way” I said quietly and Chris nodded, looking down at the marble floor between his feet, his elbows resting on his knees.   
“We’re a quarter of the way there” Chris whispered and I nodded happily, glad that he was seeing some light in our situation.  
“Yeah’ a quarter of the way there, and we’ve gotten really good at just blowing through floors. I bet you if we wanted to we could be at Floor Thirty by the end of tomorrow if we bring the rest of the assault team with us. Besides, they’ve wanted to go on a full scale assault for a while. How about I message them all later tonight? We can get a move on; we’ll get to the end in no time.” Chris glanced over at me.  
“Do you think they’d actually be willing to do that? I mean, five floors in a day is quite a bit.” I nodded, trying to reassure Chris. I was afraid that at this point in time any hint of a loss of hope would make him fling himself off of the nearby railing.  
“Yeah, I’ll just message them when we get home.” I looked up and sighed happily, relieved to have diffused the whole situation before it had gotten out of hand.  
“Hey, let’s head home.” I said, looking over at Chris who nodded slightly before taking his teleportation crystal out, opening his menu to do so before teleporting us home. We appeared in the house in our respectively set spawn locations. These were mainly in case anyone was in our house that we didn’t know about, a means of being able to search quickly and efficiently. I appeared in the upper guest room and Chris downstairs in the kitchen. I stepped out into the hallway and waited for Chris, hearing him come up the stairs slowly.  
“Remind me why I’m the one who spawns downstairs when you’re the faster one?” he asked and I laughed in response.   
“Well, I thought the bigger guys wouldn’t want to come upstairs either. You’d be best to take care of them, right?”   
“You know that break-ins are pretty much impossible in SAO, right?” I looked over at him before responding.  
“Don’t say something is impossible in SAO, remember the Laughing Coffins?” Chris certainly didn’t like that reference. A pair of the group had actually managed to get into our home the previous week. They hadn’t stolen anything, but they’d left a calling card that told us they were still able to enter. Chris had basically not paid attention to anything for the past week, instead making sure this group didn’t return. Half of the time at night Chris would stay downstairs, waiting. It seemed that it wouldn’t be any different tonight. As I walked to the bedroom Chris changed out of his armor before heading downstairs. I sighed, laying down and resting my head on the pillow. I remembered to send the message to the assault team and, after it was finished, I drifted off.  
Chapter 14  
Inda’s hair shone brightly, a golden curtain in the sunlight that dotted the landscape. I wasn’t entirely sure which floor we were on, but I honestly didn’t care. Inda seemed happy, less serious than she had been in the past week, and her Blood Oath armor had been replaced by a simple dress, something more suiting her. I walked through the field, noticing that I too was no longer wearing my Blood Oath clothes, instead I was wearing a pair of black pants and a red shirt, something resembling an outfit I would’ve worn in the real world. Inda turned and smiled at me.  
“Sean.” She said simply and I smiled, walking toward her quickly. She then repeated my name “Sean.” But it sounded more irritated this time, and then there was a sudden jerk on my shoulder. I jolted awake to find that I was not in a sunny meadow, rather, I was in a dark cave with Inda crouched next to me. She was still wearing her armor, and the black pins on her collar remained, accenting the sorrowful look in her eyes.  
“What have I told you about dozing off?’ she questioned, I would’ve taken it as a joke had she not been so sorrowful as of late. I glanced around and saw that the rest of the assault team was sitting around, waiting while Heathcliff and the other leaders of the assault team figured out our next plan of attack. I noticed Chris in one corner of the small room we were in, hunched over in sleep. He looked oddly alien without Damien by his side, a sight I had become used to ever since we’d started the assault back on Floor 27. We were now on Floor 31. Amelia was on the other side of me, curled up and on her side. She had left Aria with one of her friends during the assault, and Blake was in the meeting along with Damien.  
“How much longer do I have?” I asked, looking up at Inda. Usually, this would have been a question asked by one of the higher ranking members of our squad, but seeing how we’d lost the rest of our squad on the last floor I was the highest ranking member under Inda’s command.  
“Probably about fifteen minutes. I’d say to get your things together now, so we can get moving as soon as possible.” A small ghost of a smile broke Inda’s commanding façade. “Just try not to fall asleep again, I don’t need to be waking you when you’re the one with the big sword.” With this, Inda walked away quietly to seek out our second in command and figure out where he wanted us during the next boss battle in the formations. As I watched Inda walk away I smiled. Yeah, she’d been hard on me ever since we lost a lot of our guys back on Floor 28, but ever since we’d been together she always apologized for it later. I remember her telling me that she’d be terrible with our relationship, having never had one before. That was untrue though. I treated her as well as I could, and she always seemed to try to make me happy at the end of the day.  
I stood up as the meeting adjourned; gently shaking Amelia awake before Blake came outside and saw her leaning against me. Amelia sighed in exasperation, not wanting to go back to pretending she loved Blake, but she would for the sake of their daughter. I looked across the room and saw Damien talking to Chris, who was paying more attention to checking how his husband’s hair looked. I smiled lightly. I hadn’t liked them together at first, I had even been angry at Damian for going with the guy who had been a complete jerk to us for awhile, but now that I know a similar happiness with Inda I could understand why he’d done it. Once you fall in love with someone, I’ll admit that it’s easy to forget the past, and everything they ever did to you. I felt a burning on my ring finger at that thought and sighed. It was a lot harder for me to forget.  
Inda walked back over to me after talking with Heathcliff for a brief time.  
“There’s been a brief change of plans.” She explained to me as we walked away from the crowd, where we could talk easier.  
“How so?” I asked with raised brow and she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, looking down at the floor.  
“I have a feeling this is more aimed at testing you than it is at advancing our cause in any way. Heathcliff wants us to destroy the Laughing Coffin Headquarters, back on Floor 29.” I nodded, feeling my finger burn even worse at the thought of a test by Heathcliff. It also pissed me off, I had done exactly as ordered for the past two months, and he still wanted to act as though I was still some disobedient newcomer. Well, let him bring it.  
“Sean.” Inda whispered as though to snap me out of my thoughts. I shook my head slightly and looked down at her, into her flawless eyes which burned with concern as they looked into my own.  
“What’s wrong?” I asked quietly, reaching for her hand. Inda reached forward, gently, almost cautiously intertwining her fingers with mine. Her hand felt cold, as though she were afraid.  
“Well….. the last time we were in a battle with a guild like this a lot of people died.” She went quiet for a moment, biting her lip before looking back up into my eyes. “And…and I don’t want to lose you.” I was stunned by this. Inda had never really expressed concern over me going into battle or…really at all. I let a small smile play at my lips as I gently put my arm around her waist, pulling her so she was almost against my own chest. I leant down and whispered in her ear.  
“You won’t lose me, I swear. I’m too good, remember?” The gloating managed to get a smile onto Inda’s face, lightning up her beautiful features.  
“If you say so.” She said quietly and gently rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb. “Just…if we get separated promise me you’ll find me after it’s over. Please?” I smiled once more.  
“Where else could I go?” I whispered and she sighed, leaning forward so her head rested just barely against my armor. I could smell her perfume when she was this close, it smelled like roses. I heard her take a deep breath before she looked up at me.   
“Alright, we should get moving.” She announced and pulled her teleportation crystal out, disappearing quickly. I rolled my eyes at her sudden departure and pulled my own crystal from my pocket and used it, heading to Floor 29.  
Chapter 15  
I stood next to Inda as we stood on a hill overlooking the Laughing Coffin stronghold. The smell of smoke rose into my nostrils from the fires they had lit below some for cooking, some for warmth in the night which had settled over Floor 29 like a muting force, silencing everything but the men and women in the complex below us. This made out approach particularly difficult, as we’d had to be almost impossibly quiet as we advanced up the hill. I knew that far below in the bushes the other squads were waiting, and all of us were waiting for our command from Heathcliff to attack. I glanced over at Inda as we waited and shot her a small smile, which caused her to raise a brow.  
“Something amusing you?” she questioned as I stood, arms crossed over my chest, glancing sidelong at her.   
“Just thinking about how the tables would’ve been flipped a few months ago if you had come here, how you would’ve killed me if I’d been one of the enemy down there.” Inda sighed, looking down.  
“What they’re doing is wrong, and you know that Sean.” She whispered in an almost pained tone, and I realized I had struck a nerve. While guys like Chris and I had become accustomed to ending lives and brushing it off, I realized Inda was still uncomfortable with that. I didn’t have any disdain for her due to that fact, quite the opposite actually. I was happy that she still had some scrap of humanity, while I was…..well, little more than a hollow shell that existed to attempt to keep her going. I reached over and gently put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look over.   
“Don’t think too hard on it.” I whispered, before continuing “Just…..survive. Please.” Inda nodded as I heard the horn which signaled our attack ring out over the land, shattering the silence as hundreds of us broke from the forest, suddenly sprinting toward the complex. I nodded to Inda before running ahead, sprinting down the hill at full speed. I knew if I showed any kind of hesitation with Heathcliff watching I would be killed, I had no doubt of this. I reached one of the doors of the fortification and managed to break it down simply by slamming into it, either the door was weak or the adrenaline in my veins was making me inhuman. The smell of smoke dominated my nostrils, the cooking fires had spread in the fighting, consuming some parts of the fortification. Blood already dotted some spots, but the bodies were, of course, gone. I drew my blade with both hands as one of the assassins came rushing out of the smoke at me and drew a crimson line across his torso. He dissipated as the sound of steel meeting steel suddenly filled my ears along with the cries of agony as multiple players were cut down from one side or the other.   
Almost as suddenly as the first assassin had appeared another pair emerged from the smoke. They seemed younger, more timid. The boy on my left couldn’t have been more than thirteen years old. For a moment, I pitied him, but that was forgotten when he lunged at me with his dagger. I thrust my blade forward and he impaled himself upon it, leaving me without a weapon as his ally rushed me. I planted a plate metal boot into the younger man’s chest and kicked, sending him flying backward ten feet as his friend disappeared into a cloud of data. I turned on the other boy, who was lying in a pile of broken crates. One of his arms was bent at an impossible angle and he lay there whimpering from pain. I approached him, planted a foot on his chest, and dealt a killing blow quickly as to end his suffering. It was then that I realized just how brutal this battle was becoming, all around me Knights were being cut down in savage manners, and the survivors were returning strikes against the assassins in kind. Not one person stopped for a moment to think of how these were other human beings, not just players in a game. Even I didn’t stop. I approached an assassin who was sprinting through the smoke in an attempt to escape and swung my blade expertly in a strike that would’ve severed him in half if he hadn’t immediately disappeared.   
I was no longer human. I no longer thought of anyone else but myself. I didn’t think of the pain I would cause the families, or how I would distance myself from others with my brutality. All that took over was the insatiable bloodlust, and my own survival instinct. As one assassin rushed me I grabbed his head and lifted him by it before smashing him into the ground, an act so brutal that the memory haunts me to this day. I continued through the crowd, slashing and stabbing any of the Laughing Coffins that crossed my path like the fools that they were. The blood pounded in my temples as the adrenaline surged through my veins like liquid fire.   
Briefly, I spotted Chris and Damien in the fighting. The two were standing back to back in a defensive offense, attacking only when someone attacked them. I never once spotted Inda, and by the time I entered the leader’s quarters I had forgotten to think of looking for anyone. The older man who ran the guild, who was around Heathcliff’s age, sat behind a desk made of some kind of expensive wood. Candles hung in chandeliers around the room. The room itself smelled of old paper and candle wax. When the man behind the desk signaled for his four guards to step forward I was not afraid. They were all like me, but weaker. They stood with weapons in two hands, some wielding greatswords while others wielded smaller weapons, daggers or shortswords. I was not concerned with them though, and I continued forward to strike their master as they rushed me.   
Surprisingly, my weapon broke in half as the first man struck, the metal shattering and splinters of it cutting into my face as it flew by. I felt no pain though, and used the broken hilt to stab into the man’s armor, killing him as I deflected another’s blade with my gauntlet before grabbing his fallen brother’s blade and driving it through him. The two that rushed me with daggers were trivial. I kicked one away while I grabbed the other and twisted his neck at such a horrific angle that I thought it impossible. I grabbed one of the daggers as it fell and threw it expertly into the other’s neck. The whole encounter took only thirty seconds. Now, fear shone clear in the eyes of the guild leader as he stood, drawing his blade with a shaky hand in an attempt to defend himself. In response, I smashed my gauntlet against the side of the blade, breaking it in half before I reached forward and grabbed the man by the neck. I picked him up, his legs leaving the ground as my grip tightened around his throat. He gasped for air and clawed at my hands, begging for air, but I kept squeezing until he stopped. His body disappeared into data and I suddenly felt drained. I fell to my knee and breathed heavily. It was through my heavy breathing that I heard stifled sobs behind me. I could tell who it was without looking, but something made me look.  
Inda stood there, her hand over her mouth, the other still holding her blade. I looked down, slowly rising to my feet.  
“W-why…” I heard her start and I looked up at her, holding my side where I realized I had been grazed by a blade.   
“Inda.” I started as I stepped toward her and she sobbed again, looking away from me. Her shoulders shook from the sobs. I reached out to her, but when my hand touched her shoulder she jerked away.  
“I…..I wanted to think that you weren’t like the others….that you couldn’t hurt others so easily….” She sobbed again, and the sound made my heart twist in my chest.  
“Inda….” I whispered again and suddenly her eyes snapped to mine and she almost screamed.  
“What kind of monster are you!?” before swiftly leaving. My hand fell to its side where I’d still been holding it out, my eyes wide as I looked at the space where she had just been. My heart broke in two when I realized the pain I had caused her. I wanted to go after her, but I felt rooted to the spot, like someone had super glued my boots to the ground beneath me. After Inda was gone Damian entered, and smiled when he saw me.   
“Sean, thank God, we thought you were gone.” He saw my expression then and his brow furrowed in worry. “Hey, what’s wrong?” It was then that I stepped forward, and collapsed into darkness.  
Chapter 16  
Chris  
Inda came running by in tears a minute or two after Damian went into the complex. I raised a brow and started to follow her, then stopped myself. Internally, I debated if I should follow and figure out what was wrong with her after all the things her people had done. After a moment, I put my personal vendettas aside and followed. My boots made light noises as I walked over the dirt, sometime clanking on the swords of the fallen as I made my way to where Inda was sitting, against one of the walls with her head against her knees. I could visibly see her shoulders shaking from sobs as she sat there, and I bit my lip.   
“Hey…” I whispered as I crouched next to her, using the same voice that I used when Damian seemed sad or worried. Inda looked up at me, swiftly wiping her tears away, but her bloodshot eyes told the tale of the tears which still lingered there.   
Against my better judgement, I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. I may not particularly like the girl, but I didn’t appreciate seeing anyone in the pain that she must be in to break down like this.  
“What’s wrong?” I questioned and she shook her head slowly, biting her lip as though she wanted to tell me, but couldn’t. I sighed, sitting down next to her and putting my hands against my knees.   
“You know, Damien likes to get like this when he doesn’t feel happy. Now, I have my ways of getting him out of it. I doubt they would work with you though, since his usually involve cooking something. I don’t think you’d enjoy my cooking, so how can I help you out?” My explanation managed to coax a smile out of Inda before she sighed and looked down at the ground.  
“Sean….did some things that I didn’t think he could do. I saw him….I saw him kill four people without a weapon.” I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest and looking up the sky, which was still clouded with smoke.  
“Yeah…there have been things over the last….what has it been now, a year? That I’ve been messed up from seeing. Even things that Damien’s done. He’s never done something like that, but he’s definitely killed people, but so have I….that’s the thing. We’ve all done things that are wrong, haven’t we?” Inda sighed.  
“I suppose….I’m just scared….do you think I could stay at yours and Damien’s place tonight?” I shrugged.  
“Sure, why not. Let me just go find Damien, then we’ll head back, alright?” Inda nodded, curling up into a ball and putting her head against her knees. I sighed, standing and walking back toward where Damien had gone in. He was walking out as I approached, and I saw Sean walking in the opposite direction, heading toward the exit of the compound. I watched him then looked at Damien, who shook his head, telling me not to go after him. I walked over, gently taking Damien’s hand in mine, feeling where a blister was forming where he had been holding his sword.  
“Are you alright?” I whispered and he nodded. I glanced in Sean’s direction “Is he going to be alright?” Damien sighed, biting his lip as he looked over at Sean.  
“He’s….torn up about what happened. He said he wanted to be alone for a few days, and then he’d figure out what to do. His big thing is that he hurt Inda…” Damien looked up at me. “He loves her, and I don’t think she knows….” I sighed, and nodded.  
“It’s definitely a complicated situation…we just need to let him figure out what he needs to do first, then we can work on getting them back together. Inda’s obviously shaken right now, and I think she will be for a couple days anyway. I think the separation will do them some good. After a few days we can get them back together, try to patch up these wounds, but until then I suggest we do our best to make sure they don’t run into each other on accident somehow.” Damien nodded in agreement to my plan and I smiled down at him. “Come on, Inda’s coming with us for a day or two….hope you don’t mind”   
Damien looked up at me with a shocked expression and I raised a brow.   
“What?”  
“You, Chris, my husband, invited Inda to stay with us? Who are you and what have you done with Chris?” Damien grinned at his own joke and I rolled my eyes, reaching down to cup his face and plant a swift kiss on his soft lips before smirking.  
“Just feeling kind today, I still don’t like those knights. Now, come on. We should really get her home.” With a sigh that indicated he’d been expecting more private time Damien walked over to Inda with me. I held out a hand and helped her to her feet before teleporting us all home.   
Chapter 17  
Sean  
Rain poured down on me, the smell of ash still lingered around me as water gathered around my feet. The dark sky and heavy rain only reflected my current emotions. The pain I still felt nearly a week after hurting Inda tore at me from the inside out like a ravenous beast. I let out a sigh as a flash of her face went through my mind, causing the tears to come. They streamed down my face slowly, mixing with the rain which still hung there. I sighed, standing up and walking away from my makeshift campsite. I walked with my hands on the pockets of the simple coat I wore, no weapons or armor on me. I hadn’t gotten a new weapon since mine had broken during the attack, and I felt no need to wear armor. At this point, I didn’t care.  
The forest stretched out before me endlessly as I walked, and I kept my head down to look at the ground as I walked. I didn’t much care for looking at scenery at this point. I just wanted to wander until I got tired, then settle down for the night like I had been for the past week. However, my plan seemed to be interrupted when I heard a female scream. My eyes snapped up and toward the noise. I heard a struggle, less than a hundred yards for me, and decided to rush into action, do something good. I rushed forward through the bush, thorns clawing at my side and leaves obscuring my vision before I tore through them.   
When I managed to clear the brush I emerged into a clearing. A man wearing a suit of white armor stood there, standing over a young woman, poised to strike. My instinct going into overdrive, overriding all the emotion currently shrouding my brain, I rushed forward and delivered a crushing blow to the man’s jaw. I felt the defined bone break from the force of my punch and what I could see of his blue eyes through his long brown hair widened. He flew in the opposite direction and smashed into the ground, mud flying up around him when he landed. I grinned as he groaned, then looked down at the girl. She seemed to be around my age, with hair which had obviously been dyed purple at one point, but was now fading. She wore a dress overlain with armor which was the same color I imagine her hair once was. She shakily held a dagger, looking up at me with wide emerald eyes.  
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” I said to her, offering a hand. She took it and I helped her gingerly to her feet. She was a little bit shorter than me, and almost a stick figure in her weight. I smiled lightly and was about to excuse myself when I heard the knight standing up, his armor clanking against itself as it did. I had learned to enjoy being without my armor again; it definitely gave me a better range of motion, which made up for the lack of protection. The knight brandished his sword at me like he was going to stab me with it, despite the point being visibly dull. I smirked at this, realizing that the entire blade was so dull that he probably couldn’t have cut through paper with it. So, when the fool lunged at me with his worthless weapon, I grabbed it and ripped it from his grasp. This threw him forward into my next strike, an upward palm into his nose. I felt the feature snap as my palm made contact and the knight stumbled back, clutching his face. I took a step forward, grabbed the knight by his armor, and flipped him forward. He hit the ground with a loud slam and I saw the light of consciousness leave his eyes. I panted lightly from the exertion of the act, but felt no pain. I looked back at the woman, who seemed shocked at the ease with which I had dispatched the man.  
“Sorry about that.” I apologized, making a bow. “My name is Sean, Knight of the Blood Oath.” The woman seemed to have been snapped out of a trance by my words and she began to return my bow.   
“My name is Ashley….I don’t belong to a guild. I help run a tavern in the next town….” She seemed to hesitate, looking down before she continued “T-thank you for saving me” she stuttered, still in a state of fear. “I don’t know what he would’ve done had you not shown up.” I sighed, looking down at the man.  
“Well, good thing I did show up, what’s he got against you anyway?” Ashley looked down, frowning.   
“I was friends with the woman he loved. She left him and I guess he thought I could work as a substitute…..” I shook my head slowly and crossed my arms over my chest.  
“Well, I don’t think that he’ll be bothering you anymore. Would you like me to escort you back to the town?” Ashley nodded, looking back toward the forest.  
“Do you know the way there? If you don’t I can lead the way…and I can find some way to repay you for your actions.” I looked back toward the forest.  
“I don’t exactly know the way there, and some company will be more than enough to repay me for the help. Please, lead the way.” I gestured toward the forest and Ashley started to walk that way, when we got onto the trail she walked in the direction I assumed the town was in. We walked in silence for a few minutes before Ashley spoke.  
“So…..what happened to your hand, if you don’t mind me asking?” she asked and I raised a brow before holding up my left hand.   
“You mean my finger?” I asked as I wiggled the stump where my left ring finger had once been. Ashley nodded in response and I chuckled lightly.  
“Well, long story short, the Knights didn’t exactly like me when I first joined them. As I’m sure you guessed from the name, we have to make an oath in blood. Most of the knights just make a cut on their hands and use the blood from that….the commander decided I needed to be punished for my past sins. I guess he decided the best way to do that was to remove my ring finger.” Ashley frowned.  
“I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have to have gone through that.” I shrugged in response, shoving my hands into my pockets once more.  
“I don’t exactly regret the whole happening…..I met the girl that I love there.” Ashley raised a brow, seemingly curious to my casual mentioning of Inda.  
“Really? Why aren’t you with her now?” I looked over at her and bit my lip, thinking about telling her before I looked down at the trail and sighed, closing my eyes.  
“I don’t want to talk about that.” I whispered.  
“Sorry.” We walked for a while in silence then, until we reached the town. It reminded me of one of the towns on the lower floors. It was made completely of wooden buildings, nothing too intricate here. Some couples walked around the village, some livestock moving around along with them. Windows on some of the houses were open, and some were closed. After a moment I realized that this town had been created entirely by players.   
“How long have you lived here?” I asked as I looked over at Ashley.   
“Oh, it’s been about two months now….it’s not anything extravagant….but it’s home.” As Ashley led me through the town I got strange looks from people, as though they were surprised to see a stranger there. I leant over and asked in a hushed tone.  
“Hey, uh, did I do something wrong?” Ashley laughed and shook her head.  
“No, we’re just not used to having anyone new come through here; you’re the first in a couple of weeks. People might avoid you at first, but we’re all kind here.” Ashley led me to a small wooden house and opened the door. It was a one story home, made of about three rooms. There was a kitchen, a living room, and what I could assume to be a bedroom. There were all separated by a singular wall between each of them with a hole cut into it for a door.   
“Like I said, it’s not extravagant, but it’s home.” I couldn’t argue with that. The house certainly did have a comfortable home-y feel to it. There was a lack of furniture, a simple bed in the bedroom that I could see. There were a few chairs in the living room around a table. In the kitchen there was a small nook where I assumed Ashley cooked.   
“I figure the best way to repay you would be to offer you a place to stay for awhile, you look like you’ve been out on your own for a bit.”  
“Yeah, it’s been about a week.” I replied, rubbing the back of my neck as I looked around. At the moment, I found no reason not to stay, and so I shrugged. “Sure, I’d have no qualm against staying here.”


End file.
